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INDEX TO GENERAL HISTORY, 



Page 

EARLY HISTORY— The Sacs and Foxes— 

By William A. Meese 7-51 

The Sac ami Fox Indians 7 

Sac and Fox Treaties 8 

Sac and Fox Customs 10 

The Homes of the Sacs 10 

The Rock River Village 11 

Name of the Village 11 

Population of the Sacs and Foxes 12 

A Revolutionary Battle 12 

Black Hawk and Keokuk 13 

The Cause of Indian Wars 14 

Sacs and Foxes of Today 15 

First White Explorers 15 

First Flag in the Upper Mississippi Valley-_16 

The War of 1S12 '___1(5 

The First Expedition 17 

Major Canipliell's Expedition 17 

The Battle of Campbell's Island 18 

Black Hawk Celebrates 20 

The Derelict 21 

Major Taylor's Battle I.I2I 

First Settlers 23 

Slavery 24 

The Settlement of Lands 25 

The Beginning of Trouble 25 

The Rock Island Petition 26 

The Indian Agent Reports 27 

Whiskey tlie Cause 27 

The Second Petition 27 

Benjamin F. Pike's Atlidavit 2S 

Governor Reynold's Acts 29 

Gaines Goes to Fort Armstrong 33 

The Settlers Affidavits 34 

The Agent Fears Trouble 35 

The Rock Hiver Rangers 36 

The Illinois Soldiers 3(5 

(ieneral Gaines Makes a Demonstration 37 

Prepare to Attack 37 

The Burning of Sac Village 38 

The Stampecle __ 38 

The Black Hawk War 1/.S9 

The Turkey Scare 40 

Black Hawk Starts 41 

Cieneral Atkinson Comes to Fort Armstrong_41 

The tiovernor's Prochimation 42 

A Rock Island Comp;uiy 43 

Other Rock Island Soldiers 43 

Roswell H. Spencer 44 

James Knetsar 44 



Pag& 

Reddish, the Tunnels and Eames _ 44 

The Wells Family 44 

Captain Seth Pratt's Company 44 

Rock Island Settlers in 1832.1 48 

Incidents Concerning Fort Armstrong.. .48 

The Powder Plot . 49 

The Burning of the Fort .50 

Roster at the Fort " ._50 

POLITICAL DIVISIONS 51 

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL 53 

Building of the Fort 55 

Rock Island Armory and Arsenal. .56 

Joint Resolutions of the Iowa Legislature.. 57 

Certificate from the Government Agent 57 

General Rodman's Plans 58 

TOPOGRAPHY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.64 

Geology 65 

Natural Scenic Beauty 67 

Coal Measures 68 

ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY 70 

County Court House 72 

The Orations 74 

Edward D. Sweeney 74 

Charles J. Searle..! 79 

J. M. Gould . 82 

The Completed New Court Hou.se of 1897.. .84 

Address of Hon. William J. Jackson .85 

Address of C. L. Walker 88 

COURT, BENCH AND BAR 90 

ROCK ISLAND COUNTY SOLDIERS' MONU- 
MENT 92 

TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION 93 

Andalusia Township 110 

.Andalusia Village HI 

Bars(ow 101 

Black Hawk Township 103 

Bowling Township 107 

Buffalo Prairie Township 1 111 

Buffalo Prairie 112 

Carbon Cliff. Vill.age 101 

Canoe Creek Township 96 

Coal Valley Township and Village 106 

Coaltown 103 

Coe Township 95 

Cordova Township 94 



Page 

Cordova Village, 94 

Drury Township 112 

Drury's Landing 113 

Edginftlon Township 107 

Edgington Village 109 

East Moline, Village 102 

Hampton Township 99 

Hami)tt)n, Village 100 

Hillsdale, Village. 98 

Illinois City 113 

Joslin 99 

Lowell 104 

Milan Village 105 

Osborn 99 

Port Byron 95 

Port Byron, Village 96 

Rural Township. _ 107 

Rapids City, Village 100 

Reynolds, Village 109 

Rock Island, City 103 

Sears, Village 103 

Silvis, Village 102 

South Moline Township 102 

South Rock Island Township 103 

Tippecanoe 100 

Taylor Ridge, Village : 109 

Zunia Township 98 

Zuma Center 99 

CITY OF ROCK ISLAND 113 

Early History — Farnhamsburg and 

Stephenson 114 

Town of Rock Island 115 

Early Names of Our Streets 117 

Some Old-Time Merchants and Citizens in 

1855 and Prior 120 

Colleges 131 

Banks 137 

Building Associations 141 

Rock Island Mutual Building, Loan and 

Sayings Association 141 

Black Hawk Homestead Building, Loan and 

Savings Association 141 

BtTFoRD Block 148 

Cemeteries 136 

Fire Department 125 

Ferry 144 

Hospitals and Homes 136 

Industrial Commission 142 

Industrial Home. 146 

Library 133 

Manufacturies 140 

Parks 128 

Post Office 124 

Police Department 125 

Public Schools 130 

Rock Island Cluu 143 

Tri-Citv Press Club 145 

Water Works 127 

Young Men's Christian Association 146 

€ITY OF MOLINE. 148 

g Events of Early Days 149 

Business Men's Association 169 

Cemetery 159 

Fire De partment 152 

Health Department 157 

Hospital 156 

Library I54 



Page 

Manufactories 159 

Moline Plow Co 159 

Moline Wagon Co 161 

Velie Carriage Co 162 

Mutual Wheel Co 163 

Wright Carriage Body Co 164 

Moline Furniture Works 164 

Deere & Co 164 

ArgiUo Works 167 

Moline Club 170 

Post Office 1.50 

Public Schools 154 

Retail Merchants' Association 170 

Tri-City Manufacturers' Association 167 

Water Works 153 

WoMANs' Club of Moline 171 

Young Men's Christian Association 171 

ROCK ISLAND COUNTY _. ..173 

First Entries of Land 173 

Illinois and Mississippi Canal. 173 

Pioneer Day's on the Mississippi 

Canal 175 

Illinois Western Hospital for the 

Insane 179 

Rock Island County- Infirmary and 

Poor House ISO 

Churches of Rock Island 180-193 

Broadway Presbyterian 189 

Edgewood Baptist Church 192 

First Church of Christ (Scientist) 192 

First Baptist Church 193 

First Methodist Episcopal Church 180 

German Evangelical Lutheran Im- 

manuels Congregation 196 

German Evangelical Friedens Con- 
gregation 192 

German Methodist Episcopal Church 189 

Hebrew Congregations 191 

St. James Catholic Church 184 

St. Paul's (Belgian) CathoHc Church 193 

Sacred Heart Catholic Church 193 

Spencer Memorial Methodist Church 190 

Trinity Episcopal Church 184 

United Presbyterian Church 184 

Churches of Moline 193-197 

Christ Church 196 

First Congregational Church 193 

First Baptist Church 194 

First Swedish Baptist Church 194 

Sacred Heart Belgian Catholic Church 197 

Second Congregational Church.. 196 

Second Methodist Episcopal Church 195 

Svveilish Methodist Episcopal Church 194 

Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church 194 

St. Anthony's (Roman Catholic) 

Church 194 

St. Mary's Catholic Church 194 

Plymouth Congregational Church 196 

Churches of Townships 197-202 

Andalusia 200 

Bethesda, Canoe Creek Township 198 

Cordova 197 

Coe Township 198 

Coal Valley 199 

Drury Township 201 

Edgiiigton 201 

Hampton 199 

Milan 199-200 



Page 

Port Bvron 197-198 

Rapids' City 198 

Zuma 198 

Fraternal Organizations 202-212 

Fraternal Tribunes 202 

B. P. O. of Elks 203 

Arsenal Council, No. 171 203 

The Turn Verein 203 

Fraternal C)rder of Eagles 204 

, Modern Woodmen of America 204 

Royal Neighbors of America. 210 

Secret Societies 212-215 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows 215 

Royal Arcanum 215 

Patriotic Societies 215 

The Press of Rock Island County 217-225 

Argus. The 218 

American Law Reporter, The 222 

Beobachter am Mississippian, The 224 

Commercial. The 220 

Chronik Des West ens 224 

Daily Dispatch, Moline 222 



Page 

Liberty Banner, The 218 

Liberty League. The 222 

Mail, Molinel 223 

Northwestern Advertiser, The 218 

News, The 220 

Neue Volks Zeitung 224 

Port Byron Globe 223 

Reynolds Pre.ss, The 224 

Rock Island Register, The 220 

Rock Island Union 220 

Upper Mississippian, The 218 

Weekly Review-Dispatch ^ 222 

Additional Publications 225" 

First Ferries 226 

First Hotel 226 

First Marriages 227 

Old Settlers Association of Rock 

Island County 227 

Famous Crimes of Rock Island 

County 228 

Port Byron Acade.my 230 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS OF GENERAL HISTORY. 



Facing 
Page 

Illinois Western llosjiital for the Insane ISO 

Main Buildings of the Modern Woodmen of 

America 204 

Port Byron Academy 230 



INDEX TO BIOGRAPHIES. 



Page 
A 

Ainsworth, Harry 20 

Ainsworth, Henry A 18 

Anderson. O. Frederick 143 

Ari). A. H., Doctor 176 

Ashdown, Mark 175 

B 

Beal, Albert M 107 

Bean, William H 140 

Beardsley, Ezra M.. Colonel 101 

Beardsley. James M., Major 99 

eardsley. James M 102 

Bei-nhardi . Carl 1.50 

Bernh.irdi, Carl O.. M. D 149 

Blanding. Virgil Marion 145 

Blunt. Stanhope E., Colonel 11 

Hover. John A., Deacon 47 

Bracket t . James 160 

Brown. Henry E 163 

Browning. John H 164 

Bviffum, Alnion A 107 

C 

Caniiibell. Thomas 21 

Carter. Charles Crawford 147 

Casteel, Herbert E 181 

Chapman, Harrv Landon 175 

Chase. Henry Howland, M. D 130 

Connelly, Henry Clay, Major 33 

Coryn. Edward- 106 

Coyne. Alexander W 155 

Coyne, Edward S 156 

Coyne. Francis 156 

Covne. James 155 

Coyne. William T 155 

Coyne, William, Senior 154 

Curtis, Henry, Colonel 37 

D 

Dade, Myrtle E.. Miss... 144 

Davenport, George, Colonel 3 

Davis, John B\irgess, Captain 118 

■Davis, Samuel Sharpe 28 

V Deere, Charles 177 

\Decre, John 92 

Denkmann, Frederick C. A 69 

Dimock. DcWitt Clinton : 103 

Durham, Charles William, Colonel 97 



Page 
E 

Eastman, William Fisk 82 

Eddy, Warner L., M. D 156 

Edging! on, John 8 

Entriken, Walter Judson 172 

Eyster, George Loughead, M. D 163 

F 

Frick , Henry J 41 

Fries, Peter 16 

G 

Gardner, F. H.. Doctor 174 

Geismar, Morris 61 

Gould, J. M., Judge 57 

Greenawalt, Presley 108 

Gue, George W., Reverend 112 

Guyer, Edward Holmes 15 

Guyer, Samuel S 159 

H 

Hall, Douglas E 161 

Harper, Benjamin 85 

Hartz, Ben C 20 

Hawes, Charles W., Major 90 

Hawes, David. Senior 64 

Hawes, Frank B 141 

Hawes, Mary Fav, Mrs 139 

Hayden, HeVbert B 135 

Heagv, Samuel 98 

Heck; Jo.si.ah G 170 

Hemenway, Charles F 87 

Hemenway, Luke E 87 

HoUingsworth, Maurice A 169 

Hubbard, Henry B 134 

Huber, Ignatz 42 

Huber, Otto 43 

H unt oon , Joseph 170 

Hurst, Elmore W 38 

J 

Jackson, William 32 

Johnson, George W 171 

Johnson , Walter 123 

Juhl, Xicholai 132 

Junge, Julius 105 

K 

Kelly, Frank H 148 

Kittilsen, Edward, Colonel 52 



Page 

Knox, Benjamin Franklin 120 

Knox. Charles Bishop 171 

Knox, Edwin B 121 

L 

Landee, Frank A 94 

Larkin, Charles J 1.33 

Leas, J. Sila.s 63 

Liekefet t , Frederick C 1 .59 

Little, Robert E 161 

M 

McCabe. L. S 51 

MeConochie, William .59 

McDonald. Hugh A. J 84 

McEnirv, Matthew J 46 

McEniry, William 151 

McEniry, William. Honorable 44 

Mc(tlvnn. Patterson S 97 

McHugh. Charles 131 

Mc. Master. Sylvester Washington 127 

Mackin, Thomas, Reverend 116 

Marshall, William H_, 1.52 

Matthews. David W 129 

MediU. T. .1 10 

Meese. William A 183 

Mennicke. Christopher A 40 

Metzgar. Judson D 107 

Mitchell. Philemon L 7 

Mixter, Frank 83 

Mixter, (leorge 84 

Montgomery', Alexander E 31 

Montgomery, Robert J.. 1.57 

Montgomery, Roberts 79 

Montgomery, Samuel H 49 

Morgan, Elmer E 164 

Myers, James F., Doctor 173 

N 

Negus, Isaac 17 

Nessler, Thomas 166 

Nourse, Charles R 128 

O 

Olmsted, Robert Ward 11(1 

Ostrom, Louis, Doctor 138 

Owens, Alexander 1,58 

P 

Parker, John W 1.53 

Parnienter. Elwin Elbert 50 

Pa vne, William 111 



Page 

Pettit, Ciuy V 138 

Potter. John W 62 

R 

Robinson. James Franklin 6.5 

Robinson. Thomas J., Captain 67 

Roche. John W 168 

Rosenfield. Max Daniel 1.5 

Rosenfield. Morris 13 

Rosenfield, Walter A 14 

Rudgren, Martin Theodore 165 

S 

Schaffer, Henry C SO 

Schoonmaker, Martin 108 

Scott. John Kimberland 104 

Searle, Charles J 136 

Searle. Elhanan John. Colonel 26 

Sechler. Daniel M 113 

Sechler. Thomas M 114 

Simpson. Harry P 117 

Spencer. John W.. Judge • 5 

Stelck. Henry 126 

Stephens . (!ieorge W 88 

Sturgeon. Mansfield M 22 

Sweet. R. F., Reverend, D. D 99 

T 

Tappendorf, H, W. C 143 

Taylor. W. E., M. D 30 

Thornton. John H 169 

Tipton. David M.. Captain 9r 

Titterington. Charles 1-1^ 

Titterington. Fred 142 

Titterington. James B 129 

Trenkenschvdi, Peter F,_ 157 

V 

Velie, Stephen Henry 24 

Vinton, George W 146 

W 

Wagner, George 54 

Wagner, Robert 55 

Walker. Charles L.. Colonel 103 

Walker. Rufus .56 

Wendell. James A 1 20 

Weverhaeuser. Frederick 74 

Wilson, Edgar H 107 

Wilson, George T 133 

Wilson, John H 162 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS OF BIOGRAPHIES. 



Facing 
Page 

Ainsworth. Henry A 18 

Anderson. O. Frederick 142 

Arp. A. H. Dr 176 

Bean. J. L 140-141 

Blunt. Stanhope E. Col 12 

Boyer, John A 46-47 

Bover. John A. Mrs 46-47 

Campbell, Thomas Mrs 20-21 

Campbell. Thomas 20-21 

Casteel. H. E 180 

Connelly, Henry C. Major ,34 

Deere. Charles H 179 

Deere, John 92 

Denkmann, F. C. A 69 

Fries, Peter 16 

Gould, .1. M 57 

Cue, Rev . 112-113 

Guver, Samuel S 1 1.58 

Greenawalt, P 108 

Hawes, Chas. W, Major 90 

Hawes, Frank B 140-141 

Huber, Ignatz 42 

Hurst, Elmore W 38 

Jackson, William 32 

Johnson, Walter 122 

Knox, Charles B 120-121 

Kittilsen, Edward Col 52 

Marshall, William H 152 



Facing 
Page 

Mackin, Thomas Rev 116-117 

Meese, William A 182 

Medill, Thomas J 10 

Mont,somery, Robert S 78 

Montgomery, Alexander E. 30 

Mitchell, Philemon L 7 

McCabe, L. S 50 

McConochie, William 58 

McHuKh. Chas 130 

McEnirv, William 150 

Potter, J. W 62 

Robinson, J. F. Mrs., Residence 64-65 

Robinson, J. F 64-65 

Robinson. T. J 67 

Rosenfield, Morris 14-15 

Rosenfield. W. A 14-15 

Searle, C. J 136 

Searle, Elhanan John Col 26 

Sechler, D. M 112-113 

Schafi'er, Henrv C 80 

Simpson, H. P 116-117 

Sweet, Richard F., Dr 98 

Sturgeon, M. M 22 

Titterington, James B 128 

Velie, S. H 24 

Wagner, George 54 

Wendell, J. A 120-121 

Weverhaueser, Frederick 74 



HISTORIC 
ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



History of the Settlement of Rock Island County From the 
Earliest Known Period to the Present Time 



ILLUSTRATED 



Embracing References of Importance, and Including a Biography of 
Rock Island County's Weil-Known Citizens 



ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS 

KRAMER & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS AND ENGRAVERS 

I9O8 






3i 



FOREWORD 




THl'] work nii(lert;ikoii liy the publishers of Historic Hock Island Coixty is niam- 
tcstl\- :i work in tlic iiitorpst of ])ostprity and tin' historian of the future. Miii'h 
that has |ieriiiaiieiit \alue in hist oiA-uiakint; for this section of the Mississijipi 
\allev is here preseutcil in concise form and is written within the memory of peojile 
who hirtrely contrilintcd to its social, jiolitical and industrial development. Jt 
needs no jH'ophetic vision to forecast the futni-e of this community as one of 
ureatei- prospi'ritw irreater achiex-ement ami fii'eater potentiaht w and the mii;hty 
ri\-er flow inji past oui' dooi' ilest ined, it is helic\ cd, to hi'ar upon its liosoin t he C(Uiimei-ce of the 
inland seas-is A-ornl with tlie message it carries to the southhind on its way to join the waters 
of t he (1 ulf. .Amid scenes of (|uiet , iieauty in prairie proves, on tlii' unilulat ing slopes of wooded 
hillsides, and within the shadow of Vmsy and growing cities, "the rude forefathers of the 
hamlet sleep," but their work lives after them, and their years of toil and hardship, not. un- 
mixed with the dangers of frontier life, are glorified in the annals of Historic Hock Isl.wd 
CouxTV. Cai-lyle tells us that the study of luograjihy is the most universally pleasant and 
profitable of all studies. The ]iresent \'olume, therefore, is rich in biographical information 
bronglit down to date, and the pid.)lishers confidently believe that the history of men and 
women, no less than the record of successful business enterprises makes for \alue aii<l [)er|)etuity 
in a work of this kind. In this connection, also, they wish to express their gratitude to all 
who have in any w ;iy aided in its preparation. Historic Ivock Isi,.\xd Cou.xty, as its name 
implies, is an integral part of the story of a great state; and if, when the larger history of 
Illinois shall be written, the historian finds within these pages aught that adds lustre to the 
glory of the commonwealth, then indeed will the realization of the hope that prompted their 
publication be complete. 



THE PUBLISHERS. 



THE SACS AND FOXES 



Our County in the Revolution, ttie War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War 
Early Settlers and Other Historic Events 



WILLIAM A MEESE 



Till'; lii-st ])(Mi|il(' wild iiiluiliitcil 1I1C iKinic :iiul which ciiiplics iiitn di-ccii Hay. 

(•(i\uiti-\-, iiiiw Riick Ishiml ('(luiity. The Sacs ai'tcr a luMi:: ami MiHuly war with 

were I'cclincii. What trilics lirst (icciij)icil the li'iMpiDis were (lri\-cii fnnii the St. haw- 

this iiTduia! is nut kiiiiwii, Imt in flic first pari rcncc Rixia- west w ai'il. They wei-e next 

(if the se\'enteenth i-entnrv, it was t he hunting eni^aucil in war with the W yaniluttes. ami 

gniiinils ill' the iince iiuwcrl'iil Irilies kieiwn as aKuin were tliey compelled tu linri-\- tnwanls 

tlte /////(/. iir /,'/,'//e/.s. whii were a ciintederatiun the setting siin, until at length they reacheil 

(if sexeral 1 1 ilies. t lie Tamanias. Michiganiies. (Ireen P>ay un hake Michigan, near where 

Kaskaskias, ('ahukias, ami I'eiirias. ami with the foxes had made their habitation. Here 

whom were also classed the .Mascout ins. it seems hot li trilies v\cie frecpiently attacked 

sometimes calle(l the Sixth Trilie. These liy other trilies of Indians, until at last they 

tribes all were of the great Algonc|iiin nation. united, f(jrming ati ol'feiisi\-e and defensive 

Marijuette in his jonrnal speaks of meeting union, each howe\ cr. retaining its tribal 

the mini in 1()73, when he stoppe(l at the 1 )es name. Thi-oiigh intermai'riage and long 

Moines Hi\-er. and aftei'wards when, on his residence they liecame siilistantially one 

return, he c.'ime by way of the Illinois River ]ie(iple, an alliance lasting to this day. lioth 

from its mouth to Lake Micliigan. The scene the Sacs and l''oxes belong to the Algonipiiii 

of tlie Illinois' main residence was, however, family. 

in the central and southern parts (jf the state. A< wliat time these twn tribes came to 

Green lia\' is not kn(n\n. Manpiette'.s map 

Tin: s.vr.vxni-.ix ixni.\xs. .,j. ^^-3 \oc^iU's the Foxes on the Fox River 

About 1 7'-''.2 nortln\'estern Illinois became between the |.iresent (Ireen Ray and Lake 

the home and the hunting ground of the Sacs Winnebago, Father Claude Alloiiez, when 

and F^ixcs. Tin' wurd '■()u-Sakis" or "Sail- he established the mission of St. I'l'ancis 

Kee," now written S,ac and Sauk, is deri\'e(.l Xa\ier in KitiO, found them located near, and 

from the compound word " A-Sau-we-Kee " in KiT'J he commenced preaching the gospi I 

signifying yellow cart h, and " .Mus-ipia-Kee," to them. Ivarly in the eighteenth century 

the original name of the h^oxes, means red they were dri\cn from (ircM'n Bay and the Fox 

earth. The early h'rench name(l this tribe, River by the Menominees, who were aided by 

Renards and the Americans calle(l them the Ottawas, ('hi])pewas and the F'rench. 

Foxes. These tribes originally li\-eil on the The Sacs and F'o.xes made dejiredatioiLS on 

St. Lawrence River near CJneliec .ami Montreal. the French traders and exacted triliute fri m 

The F\ixes were the first to migrate west. them, wliereon the F'rench commandant of 

They settled along the ri^•er that bears their the post at Green Bay took a party of hi.s men 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



in covered boats, and while distracting the 
attention of the Indians, ojK'ned fire on them 
from the water, at the same time that his 
Menominee allies attacked their village from 
the banks in the rear. Those who snrvived 
the slaughter removed to the Mississippi 
River. On arriving there they foimd that 
country inhabited liy the Sauteaux, a branch 
of the ("hippewa tribe. Upon these they 
commenced war, finally driving them out of 
the country, which they then took possession 
of and occupied. This was aliout 1722. 

These tribes next waged war ujion the 
Mascoutins and in a Ijattle opposite the mouth 
of the Iowa River defeated and almost exter- 
mitiated this tribe. Thfy then formed an 
alliance with the I'uttawattomies, Menom- 
inees and W'iiiiiebagocs, and together attacked 
the Illinois and gr.'idiially drove these peo])|e 
further southw.nrd. 

The Sacs and Foxes have warred witii the 
Sioii.x, the Pawnees. Osages and other Indians, 
and their record shows that they ranked 
among the fiercest and most \\ at like trilx's. 
l)rake said of them: "The Sacs and Foxes 
are a truly courageous people, shrewd, politic 
and enteriirising, with nut nioie of ferocit}' 
and treachery of character than is common 
among the tribes by whom they were sur- 
rounded." 

S.\C AND I'OX TUI;.\T1I';S. 

The first recognition liy our government of 
the Sacs and Foxes was in the treaty made 
at Ft. Ilarmar. January 0, ITS!), which guar- 
anteed: "The individuals of said nations 
shall be at liberty to hunt within the territory 
ceded to the Fnited States, without hindrance 
or molestation, so long a.s thev demean tlieiu- 
.selves jjcaceably and offer no injtu'v or annoy- 
ance to any of the srd)jects or citizens of the 
said Fnited States." 

In 1S()4 VVilliam Henry Harrison, governor 
of Indiana Territory, and afterwards Presi- 
dent of the United States, was instructeil Ijy 
President .b'fTeison to instittite nefroi iations 



with the Sacs and Foxes to purchase their 
lands. At this time. Black Hawk had risen 
to the position of war chief of the Sac tribe. 
Four chiefs or headmen of the Sacs and two 
chiefs of the Foxes went to St. Louis, and 
November 3, 1804, made a treaty with Govern- 
or Harrison. By this treaty the Indians 
ceded all their lands, comprising the eastern 
thirtl of the present State of Missouri and the 
territory lying between the Wisconsin River 
on the north, the Fox River of Illinois on the 
east, the Illinois on the southeast, and the 
Mississippi on the west, in all fifty million 
acres. For this grant the United States 
guaranteed to the Intlians "friendship and 
protection," paid them .'¥2. 234. .50 in goods, 
and guaranteed them goods each year there- 
■•d'ter to the amount of .fl.OOO, fGOO of which 
was to be paid to the Sacs and $400 to the 
Foxes. By this treaty it was provided in 
.\rticle 7: 

" .\s long as the lands which are now ceded 
t(i the United States r(>main tlieir ]:)ro]ierty, 
the Indians belon<;-ing to the said tribes shall 
enjoy the privilege of living and hunting upon 
them." This article in the treaty caused 
much trouble Ijetween tlie goveninient and 
the Sacs and Foxes, and was tlie main cause 
of the Black Hawk War. Black Hawk was 
not present at its making, and always denied 
the right of the headmen of the Sac tribe to 
sign such a treaty for his people. 

In the sjiring of 1804 a white person (a man 
or boy) was killed in Cuivre settlement by a 
Sauk (Sac) Indian. A party of United States 
troo]>s was sent from St. Louis to the Rock 
River village to demand the murderer. The 
Sacs surrendered and delivered him to the 
soldiei's :uid lie was conveyed to St. Louis and 
turned oxer tn t lu> civil authorities. During 
the latter pari of October, LS()4, (^uash- 
ipianie, (ine of the Sac chiefs, together with 
others of his tribe and some of the Foxes, went 
to St. Louis to try and secure the release of 
the Sac murderer who was a relative of 
Quash-fpiame. It is an Indi.-in custom and 



// / S T K I C R (J C K I S L A N D C V N T Y 



usage that if one Indian kills an<itlicr, tlic tliev ever sold the lands as stated l)y mc their 

matter is generally coni])roinised with the agent. The Pdack Hawk in |):!r1 icular, who 

murdered man's relatives for a properly con- was present at the linie, niadr a great noise 

sideration. as Black Hawk said; "The oidy aliout this land, and would ne\-er receive any 

means with us for saving a person who killed part of the annuities from that time forward." 

another was by paying for the person killed, \Vh(>n it became known that certain chiefs 

thus covering the blond and satisfying- the and headmen had withuiil .authority sold 

relatives of the murdered man," and the Sacs th(Mr lands, Quash-quame and his rompanions 

believed that by the giving of |)(mies and were degraded from their I'aidcs, Tiania, the 

peltries to the whites they coiilil secure the son-in-law of (Juash-cpiaiiic, bring elected to 

Indian's release. l>i« father-in-law's i)lace. 

Thomas Forsyth, for many years an Indian In bS15 a part of the Sacs and Fo.xes had 

trader, and from ISKi imtil ls;i() the agent of migrateil to the Missduri River, and Seinem- 

the Sacs and Foxes, in a manuscript written ber b'>, ISl.'), these Indians sent representa- 

in 1S32 says of this matter: •■()uash-quame, tives to the Portage des Sioux, where each 

a Sauk chief, who was the headman of this tribe made a separate treaty wit h t he govern- 

party, has repeatedlv said. 'Mr. Pierre CIkj- merit, agreeing to ratify the tre:il\ of Xovem- 

te.au. Sen., came several time> In my camp. ber S, 1 S(I4, and tn remain separate from, .and 

offering that if I would sell llic Lands on the render no assistance to, the Sacs ,and Foxes 

east side of the Mississijipi Hi\<'r, (iovernor then li\ing on Pmi-k Hixcr. 

Harrison would liberate my relation (meaning (hi the l.'ilh da\ of May, I.SKi, ;inotlier 

the Sauk Indian then in prison as abo\c treaty was entered into at St. bonis. This 

related), to which 1 at last agreed, and solil treaty was bet ween t lie " Sacs of Mock River" 

the lands from the month of the Illinois Ri\er and tli<" govei'iiineiit . it reallirnied the 

\\\^ the Mississippi River as high as the nuMitli treaty of bS()4 and all other contracts hereto- 

of Rocky River (now Rock River), and east to fore made bet ween the parties. To this treaty 

the ridge that divides the waters of the Mi,ss- is attacheti the mark of Ma-Ka-tai-me-She- 

Lssippi and Illinois Rivers, and \ never sold Kia-Kiak, or "Plack Sparrow Hawk," as 

any more lands.' Quash-quame also said to P>lack Hawk was also e.alled. \"et Black 

Governor Edwards, Governor Clark and Mr. Hawk said in ISIVJ: "Ihrr. jur tlic first 

Augustc Chouteau, commissioners aiipoinleil lime. I loucJnd tin- ijoom iiinll In tin tiuali/ not 

to treat with the Chijipewas, Ottawas and fowiving. hoircver, that lii/ tin net I i<in>!i'nt(d to 

Pottawattomies of Illinois Ri\-er, in the sum- fiive aivai/ my villafjr. Had tlui/ , .rplaincd to 

mer of bsl6, for lands on the west side of »ii I slioNid hare npposal It iniil nci'ir would 

Illinois River, 'You white men may put on hare si(incd their tnatij as mij nrnit eondurt 

paper what ycni please, but again I tell you, /('(// clearlr/ prore." 

I never.sold my lands higher up the Mississipi)i In the treaty of 1S()4 the go\-ernnient had 

than the mouth of Rock River,'" agreed, in ortler to put a stop to the abu.ses 

It is claimed that the Indians were drunk and impositions practiced upon the Indians 

most of the time they were in St. bonis, a by private traders, to establish a. trading 

thing not unlikely. Forsyth said the Imlians house or factory where these Indians could be 

always believed the annuities they received, suiijilied with goods cheaper and better th.an 

were presents, and when he in bsis informed frcun pri\-ate Iradei's. This the go\-ernment 

them it was a part of the purchase jirice of concluded it was best not to continue, and a 

their lands, "they were astonished, and new treaty was made by which the Fnitetl 

refused to accept of the goods, denying that States paid the Indians $1, ()()() to be relieved 



10 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



from this obligation. Black Hawk sisnod 
this treaty. Another treaty was made Aug- 
ust 4, 1824, which reaffirmed and recognized 
all former treaties. Each treaty left the Sacs 
and Foxes with le.ss land and fewer rights. 

For years there liad existed a hitter feeling 
between the Sioux and the Sacs and Foxes, 
and .August 19, 1S2.5, William Clark and T>ewis 
Case on behalf of the government assembled 
these tribes, together with the Chippewas, 
Menominees, Winnebagoes, lowas, Ottawas 
and Pottawattomies at Prairie du Chien. and 
entered into a treat}- whose object was to 
end the wars between these nations. In this 
treaty it was agreed that the T'nited States 
should nm a botmdary line between the Sioux 
and the Sacs and Foxes. It seems that this 
treaty iiroved unsatisfactory to the Indians, 
for July 'M). \S'M). aiK)lher treaty was entered 
into at Prairie du Chien in whicli the Sacs and 
Foxes ceded to the United States a tract of 
land twenty miles in width l.ying south of the 
line established Ijy the treaty of August H), 
1825. The Sioux also ceded a strip twenty 
miles wide along the north line of said bound- 
ary. This forty utile strip was neutral terri- 
tor}-, open to all for hunting and fishing, and 
was alonir the Iowa River. 



their parents. The husband could at any 
time divorce his wife or add' another if he 
deemed best, and although the marriage ties 
were not strong, the ties of consanguinity 
were rigidly preserved. Hereditary rights 
were traced through the female line. This 
was accom])lished by means of the Totem, an 
institution or emblem which served as a 
distinction for the different clans or families. 
The family surname was represented by some 
bird or animal, such as Eagle, Hawk, Heron, 
Deer, Bear, etc. Each Indian was proud of 
his Totem— in fact it represented a fraternity 
or secret society. As the different members 
of a clan were connected by ties of kindred, 
they were prohibited from intermarriage. A 
Hear might not marry a Bear, but coidd 
marry an Eagle, Hawk, or member of any 
other clan. This Totem s\'stem furnished the 
means of tracing family lineage through all 
their years of wandering and preserved their 
hereditary rights. 

The Sacs and I'oxes had from the early 
part of the eighteenth century occupieil the 
lianks of the Mississippi between the mouth 
of the JMissouri and the Wisconsin, the Sacs 
occupying the eastern side of the river, and 
the Foxes its western banks. 



SAC .WD l''OX CUSTOMS. 

The Sacs and F'oxes had many peculiar cus- 
toms, one lieing that each male child was 
marked at birth with either white or bhick 
color, the Indian mother alternating the colors 
so that the nation was evenly divided l)etw<H'n 
black and white. This distinction was kept 
alive during life, the object lieing to create 
rivalry and a spirit of enuilatiou liotween the 
members of the tribe. Tiius black was the 
competitor of white in their games and social 
customs, and each side tried to outdo tlu; 
other, and in war to take moj-e scalps. Black 
Hawk belonged to the "Jilack" ]iarty antl 
Keok>d< to the "White" party. 

Marriage among the Sacs and I'oxes 
required only the consent of the parlies and 



THr: HOMIiS OF THE SACS. 

The Sacs' house or wigwam was iriado by 
setting posts in the ground and siding it with 
bark. On top of the posts small poles were 
laid for rafters u])on which strips of bark were 
laid. These wigwams were about eighteen 
feet wide and fi-om twenty to sixt}'' feet long. 
West of the Hock River \-illage ttie Indians 
culti\-ated about one thousand acres, raishig 
corn, beans, squashes and melons. The Sacs 
and Foxes jjlanted their corn in the same hill 
year after year. They would dig up the hill 
each year and plant the coi'ii in tlie middle, 
cultivating it with a primitive hoe and hoeing 
it thre(> or fom- limes during a season. These 
corn hills were (luite large, many of them be- 
ing still visible a few years ago. The farming 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 11 

was (1(1110 ]jrincipall\' li\- I lie women assisted l>y mound and the mourner addressed words of 

the old men and children, l-'rom llie >-ears endearment tn the dead, inrpiirina: how they 

1780 to about 1820. the tradei's al I'l'aii-ie du faretl in tlic land nf spirils, and placed f I 

Chien came to the Sac villai^e Inr all llie corn ujion the u;ra\'es. The Sacs were particular 

thov used. After the ci'ops were liarveste(l, in their denionstral ions of arief. They dark- 

the Sacs would prepare to lea\c foi- 1 heir win- ened their faces with cluircoal. fasted and 

tor hunt. Jiiefore ,iioin,n the\- wduld diu; a abstained from the use of \-ermilion and 

round hole in the groimd about einhleen ornaments of dress. 

inclies in diameter. Carefiill\- remoxin,'.; Ihe Hlack Hawk said: "With us il is a (■ust(im 

sod and dii;t;inK i'wc or six feel lhe\' would to \'isit the graves of our fri(Uids and kee]) 

enlarsic it so that it would hold many bushels. them in repair for nutny years. Tlie mother 

These holes they would line with bark and will go alone to weep (i\-ei- the ,i;-ra\-e of her 

(lr\- jirass :\ud llieii fill up with their Ki'^ii'i*^ child. After he has been siu'cessful in war, 

and ve<;etables. \\'hen full lli('\' would re- the brave, with pleasure, visits the grave of 

place the sod and renun-e all traces of earth. his father, and repainis the post that marks 

often buildiuLi, a lire oxer it so thai no enemy where he lies. Tliei-e is no pl.ace like that 

could lind the place and steal the supply tlie\ where the bones of our forefathers lie to go to 

had laid up for the ne\t spring and summer. when in grief. Here, prostrate by the tombs 

\\'hen this was done the Sacs and l''o\es w cuild of our forefathers, will the (ireal Spirit take 

go off into Iowa and Missouri where tlie\- pity on us." 
would hunt. In the winter their lioiises were 
made li\" stickuig poles m the groimd ami 

bending them over so as lo form a half circle The old Indian town has by s(uue been 

about twelve feet in di.ameter. These were called "Saukenuk." How this name origi- 

co\'ere(l with rugs wo\-en of grass and with uated is not known. The first to use it was 

liides. Armstrong in his "Said<s .and the lilack Hawk 

TH1-: KOfK Rivi;i{ viui.Acio. War," published in 1SS7. Catlin refers to it 

The chief Sac village was located on the in 1837 as " Saug-e-nug," yet none of our 

north bank of liock River about two imles pioneer settlers mention itcxcept as the " Sac 

from its mouth. It was built about 1731), Village." or " Hlack Hawk's Village." Judge 

west of where the Hock Isl.and and I'eoria Spencer in his " Reminiscenses." in speaking 

Railway cr(isses the river, .-ind it extended of the year 182'J, says : " We were here but a 

down along the bank in a straggling form. few days when two Indians c;ime, the first we 

It was one of the largest Indi.an towns on the had .seen. One of them c(unmem'e(l talking 

continent, the oldest and longest inhabited, in a huid voice in the Indian langtmge of 

and had a population often as high as three which we could not understand a word. Hy 

thousand. It was the summer home of the pointing to the wigwam, saying, 'S;iukie 

Sacs. Here was located the irib.al burying Wigcop,' then pointing to Ihe ground saying, 

ground, a spot more revered by .an Indian ' Saidcie-.Xukie,' and repealing this manv 

than anything else on earth. Here reposed limes we understood he claime(l tlie land and 

the l)ones of a century of the Sac warriors, I he wigwam Ix-longed to I he Indians." Caleb 

their wives and children, and here each Sac Al water, who w.as the c(unmi.ssioner employed 

came once each year to commune with his bv the I'nited Stales to negotiate wilh the 

friends and family who had dep.arlcd to the Indians of the upper Mississippi for the 

"happv hunting grounds." (.)n these occa- purcha.se of their mineral lands in 1820, was 

sions all vegetation was removed fnnu the unable to learn the luime of the Sac town 



12 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



whether because it had none or because the 
Indians did not care to name it, is not known. 
Major Morrill Marston who was stationed 
at Ft. Armstrong from August IcSlO to June 
1821, in a letter dated November 1S20, in 
speaking of the Sac village said they call it 
Sen-i-se-po Ke-hc-mu-Kre (Rook River penin- 
sula). When the Major s]wke to one of the 
chiefs al)()ut removing his people west of the 
Mississipj)!, the Indian replied, that his people 
were not willing to leave Kv-bc-mu-Kcc. because 
their chiefs and friends were buried there. 

rOPULATIOX OI'' THE SACS AND FOXES. 

In ISO.') Lieutenant Zebulon Pike on behalf 
of the United States government made an 
expedition from St. I.ouis to the sources of 
the Mississippi Ri\-er. He says that the Sacs 
had three villages, one at the head of the Des 
Moines Rapid.s, the second on a lu'airie alxuit 
two miles from the Mississipjii at Ocpiawka, 
and the third on Rock River about three 
miles from its mouth. The L^oxes or Rey- 
nards also had ihi-ee villages, one on the 
lUinoi.s side above the Rock Island Rapids, 
on(> at Dubuque and one near Prairie du.Chien. 
Pike estimated that the Sacs numbered 2,850 
souls, of whom 1,400 were children, 750 
women and 700 warriors. The Foxes num- 
bered 1,750 of whom 400 were warriors, 850 
children, 500 women. In 1825 the secretary 
of war estimated the entire number of Sacs 
and Foxes at 4,600, an increase of over one 
thousand in twenty years. In 1831, at the 
commencement of Indian liostilities preced- 
ing the Black Hawk War, ther(> were tw(mty 
families of whom twelve were Sacs and eight 
were Foxes, and their total number is esti- 
mated to have been five thousand souls, this 
number including those living in Iowa and 
Missouri. 

A REVOLUTIONARY BATTLE. 

In the spring of 1780 Captain Hesse, a 
former British soldier, then Indian trader, 
assembled at the portage of the Fox and 



Wisconsin Rivers, a body of Menominees, 
Winnebagoes and Sacs and Foxes, in all about 
six hundred and fifty Indians, and with fifty 
white traders came down the Wisconsin River 
in canoes and thence down the Mississippi 
Ri^-er to St. Louis, and attacked that then 
Spanish post. The British and their Indian 
allies oil May 26th. made their attack, but 
were repulsed by the inlialiitants and the 
small S]ianish garrison. They then crossed 
tlie Mississipju River and attacked the Amer- 
ican post at Cahokia. Colonel .lohn Mont- 
gomery was American commandant of the 
Illinois, and he having heard of the enemy's 
nu)vements, was prepared. General George 
Rogers Clai'k had while at the Falls f)f the 
Gliio learned of the threatened British-Indian 
invasion, and hiii'ried to the Illinois, arri\-ing 
on the night of the 25tli. and assisted in the 
defense. The British and Indians were 
re)iulsed .although one .\merican was killed. 
Gen(>ral Clark now ordered Colonel Mont- 
gomery to pursue the enemy, and Montgomery 
at the head of an army of three hundred and 
fifty soldiers, mostly Virginians, including a 
company of Illinois French Militia and some 
Spanish, marched to where Peoria now is and 
destroj-ed the Indian village on the Illinois. 
He then took up his march across the ])rairies 
to the Sac village near the mouth of Rock 
River. It was in the first part of ,Iune. early 
accoiuits do not mention the day of the month, 
but it was during the season that the Sacs and 
Foxes were always at their village cultivating 
their fields of corn. Black Hawk does not 
mention this American visit, due probably to 
the fact that an Indian seldom if ever men- 
tions defeat, (Colonel Montgomery himself 
makes scant mention of his journey, save in a 
letter written in 178.3 to the Board oj Cnm- 
missioners jor the Settlement of Western Ac- 
counts in which he defends his actions while 
in the Illinois, He speaks of desiring a leave 
of absence and says, "It was then he (General 
George Rogers Clark) informed me of his reso- 
lution; and that the Pidilic Interest wovdd 



HIST R 1 C R O C A / S L A N I) C U N T Y 



13 



not permit of my request bein,s: granted, that 
I must take command of the expetlition to 
Rock River." He then says: ''After Riving 
me instructions, he (Clark) left Kohos (Caho- 
kia) the 4th of June with a small escort for 
the mouth of the Ohio on his route to Ken- 
tucky. I immediately proceeded to the 
Business I was order'd and marcli'd thi-ee 
hundred and fifty men to the lake o]ien on the 
Illinois River, and from thence to the Ruck 
Ri-\-er, Destroying the Towns and ('i-(i|is 
proposed. The Eniniy not I)ai-eing to fight 
me as they had so lately Reen Disbaiuled and 
they could not raise a sufiicient force '' 

James Aird, an early I^ritish trader, speak- 
ing of this matter in 1805, said that the Sac 
village was burnt, "by about three hundred 
Americans, although the Indians had assem- 
bled 700 warriors to give them battle." Aird 
from 1778 on was engaged in trade with the 
Sacs and Foxes made annual visits to their vil- 
lage and for weeks maintained on Credit (now 
Suburljan) Island a trading post or station. 

The French Militia who accompanied Mont- 
gomery undoubtedly exjiected to capture 
rich booty from the Indians and were greatly 
disappointed. In a lengthy declaration to 
M. Mottin de la Balme, pensioner of the 
King of France and French Colonel, ctc.A\w 
inhabitants of Cahokia complain grieviously 
of the \'irginians. They say in speaking 
of the Rock River Expedition: "Oh, Colonel 
Clark, affecting ahvays to desire our public 
welfare and under pretext of avenging us, 
soon formed with us and conjointly with 
the Spaniards a party of more than three 
h\mdred men to go and attack in their own 
village the savages who had come to our 
homes to harass us, and after substituting 
Colonel Montgomery to commaiul in his 
place, he soon left >is. 

"It is, then, well to ex]ilain to you, sir. that 
the Virginians, who never employed any 
principle of economy, have been the cause by 
their lack of management and bad conduct, of 
the non-success of the expedition and that our 



glorious projects have failed through their 
fault: for the savages abandoned their nearest 
villages, where we have been, and we were 
forced to stop and not ]iush on further, since 
we had almost no more provisions, powder 
and balls, which the Virginians had under- 
taken to furnish us." 

Thus at the Sac village at the mouth of 
Rock River was fought a battle during tlie 
War of the Revolution. How long it lasted, 
were there any killed or wounded, or if I'ritisli 
soldiers took part, our eai'iv records do not 
state, but in this farthest west of the Revo- 
Mitionary engagements, American soldiei's 
like their brothers in the east, triumphed. 

BLACK H.\WK AND KEOKUK. 

At the commencement of the ninetcontli 
centvu'y and up to the Hlaid< Hawk Wai'. the 
jirincipal and central figiu'e of the redmen in 
the upper Mississippi \'alley was the Sac 
chief. Black Hawk, who was born at the 
Indian village on Rock River in 1767. Ulack 
Hawk was of middling size and as Catlin says. 
"with a head that would excite the en\-y of 
a phrenologist: one of the finest that lu'a\en 
eAer let fall on the shoulders of an Indian." 
Another Sac chief who had risen from the 
ranks was Keokuk. His advancement was 
due to his raising a war jiarty to defend liis 
nation from an expected attack of the Amer- 
icans during the War of 1812, but which 
attack never occurred. Although polygamy 
was practiced among the Sacs and Foxes, 
Black Hawk had but one wife while Keokuk 
had seven. Keokuk was also born at the Sac 
village on Rock River in 17S:^, and died in 
April, 1848, at the Sac and Fox Agency in 
Kansas. 

Early in the nineteenth century there seems 
to have arisen a flifference between the Sacs 
and Foxes. Lieutenant Pike, writing in 1805, 
says: 

"But recently there appears to be a schism 
between the two nations, the latter (Foxes) 
not approving of the insolence and ill will 



14 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



which has marked the ci luhict of the former 
(Sacs) towards the United States on many 
hate occurrences." This disagreement con- 
tinued to grow, and while some of the Foxes 
hoki with the Sacs, most of the Foxes were 
incHned to be well disposed to the Americans, 
as were some of the Sacs, and these friendly 
Indians arrayed themselves under Keokuk's 
standard while the war ])arty held to Black 
Hawk. Black Hawk and Keokuk were thus 
rival chiefs. Keokuk had never done any- 
thing that entitled him to leadership. The 
Indian standard of character and honor made 
it the duty of an Indian to be foremost in the 
ranks of the war party. Keokuk had few- 
victories to his credit, but he was diplomatic. 
In 1828 he moved with his following across 
the Mississip])i and built a ^■illage on the Iowa. 
Black Hawk, like Keokuk, was not an 
hereditary chief, but had risen to the position 
of chief of the war ]nirty througli the native 
vigor of his character and liis great success in 
war. Black Hawk had never suffered defeat. 
His band, which was much the larger, com- 
prised the chivalry oi the Sac and Fox nations. 
At the beginning of the War of 1812, he 
offered the services of his nation to the Amer- 
icans, which from motives of humanity they 
declineil. Yet the British were not loth to 
accept them, for directly after this we find 
that La Guthre, an agent of Great Britain, 
was at the Hock River village to enlist the 
Sacs and Foxes on the British side and against 
the Americans, and we find them fighting us 
in the War of 1812. From this fact and from 
this time. Black Hawk's band was known as 
the "British Band." A study of Black 
Hawk's life discloses that he possessed those 
qualities which in a white man would raise 
him lo power and position. Black Hawk 
was the great Indian covimoner. Keokuk 
was noted as an Indian orator; l^hick Hawk 
as an Indian warrior. 

THE CAUSE OF 1NDI.\N WARS. 

Every so called Indian w^ar in this country 
originated in a desire on the part of the white 



man to po.ssess the home and the hunting 
grounds of his red brother. Discovery by the 
European nations was considered a right to 
extinguish the redman's title. England's 
policy then as now was to claim that all title 
to land was vested in the crown, tliat her 
subjects might occupy the soil, but could not 
alienate it except to her own people. Eng- 
land treated the Indians as she did her own 
subjects. When the United States at the 
close of the Revohitionary War succeeded to 
this country from the Atlantic to the Mississ- 
ippi, the same principles regarding the title 
to the Indian lands were carried out, and 
while in every instance our government had 
secured title and extinguished Indian rights, 
by treaty or purchase, we must admit that 
the consideration was the most trivial, and 
too often accejitnnce on the part of tlie red- 
man was influenced by the force ofarms. 

"Did the red man foresee his impending 
doom, his forced retreat towards the setting 
smi, the gradual breaking up of his power 
and the final extinction of his race?" Careful 
study of Indian history leads us to believe 
that among the Indians, as well as among the 
white men, there were those who saw the 
coming storm, "who saw- the threatening 
cloud coming from the east, small at first, 
scarce a shadow, but gradually becoming 
more distinct and greater as it traveled west- 
ward, anil, when it reached the summit of 
the Alleghanies, it assumed a darker hue; 
deep murmurs, as of thunder, were heard; 
it was impelled westward by strong winds 
and shot fortli forked tongues of lightning." 
On the plains of Al)raliam, when French su- 
])remacy west of the Alleghanies was forever 
lost, and I 'on line stood before the British 
oflicer wlio was to proceed westward to secure 
the fruits of victory and said, "I stand in thy 
path," he realized the impending conflict, 
and his note of warning to the chiefs of his 
nation to "Drive the dogs who wear red 
clothing into the sea" was his last appeal to 
save his race. Fifty years later Tecumseh 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND CO U N T Y 



15 



fell a martyr to the Indian cause, und his 
efforts to stem the westward march of the 
white man failed. For three years after that 
Tuscaloosa strove in vain to save his nation, 
and in 1S32 the Sacs and Foxes on Rock 
Island soil, under the leadership of their 
great chief, Black Ha\^•k, made the last 
determined Indian defense of their homes and 
the resting place of their forefathers. 

SACS AND FOXES OF TODAY. 

After their removal tn lnwa, they by trea- 
ties in 1836 and 1842 ceded all tlirii- lands up 
to the Missouri River, and in .luno, 1885, 
these people were distrihuteil as fdllows: On 
Sac and Fox Resenaiioii in Iii\\a (Tama 
Countj-) about 380: on ruttawaluniie and 
Great Nemaha Agency Hcsorxalimi, near 
the northeast corner of Kansas, tlic Sa<-; and 
Foxes of Missouri about 1.S7: im Sai' and Vnx 
Resen-ation in Indian Toi-ritory, 457, and 
Mohoko's band, wandering in the west, about 
35()--a total of 1,374. Almost all but the 
last named band arc farmers and herders. 
The agent at Sac and Fox Agency, Iowa, 
writing in 1884, said: "For honesty and 
truthfulness our Indians stan<l above the 
average white man with the merchants with 
whom they deal." Yet in spite of all at- 
tempts to civilize them, the Sacs and Foxes 
still live in rude huts like their ancestors, 
cooking their food at a fire made on the 
ground, the smoke escaping from an opening 
in the roof; sleeping f)n bunks of boards 
arranged on the sides of their huts, wearing 
blankets, painting their faces, shaving and 
decorating their heads, as did their ancestors 
who lived at the old Hock Hi\er village. 
They lack thrift, industry and a s])irit of 
progress. They still offer prayers and hold 
feasts before planting their crops, and ,'inother 
series of prayers an<l thaid<sgiving wlien their 
crops are gathered. Notwithstanding the 
efforts of Christian missionaries, holy or con- 
secrated tobacco is still l)urned on certain 
occasions as incense, and as of yore thev still 



have "Me-sham," a something that profane 
eyes have never been allowed to see. The 
modern Sacs and Foxes, while cpiiet antl 
peaceful, are averse to work and seem at their 
best visiting the neighboring towns, lounging 
about smoking, chatting and plajdng the 
white man's game — cards. 

FIRST WHITE EXPLORERS. 

Undoubtedly the first white men to cast 
their eyes upon Rock Island soil were I^ouis 
Joliet and P^atlier Jacques Marquette, when 
they and their five French canoemen, in June 
1673, floated from the mouth of tlie Wiscon- 
sin River down the broad Mississippi. We 
do not know that they landed at anv sjiot in 
the liountlary of what is now Hock Island 
County, but as they came over the Rock 
Island rapids, gliding down the swift flow- 
ing water, they could not fail to notice the 
Island of Hock Island with its rocky shores 
and beautiful groves, foi- their canoes must 
needs take the chaimel on the north shore of 
the islanil. All early \oyagers remarked 
u[)on this locality, and it was general!}- con- 
sidered "the handsomest and most delightful 
spot of the same size on the whole globe." 

We have no record of the lirst white man . 
who stepped on Rock Island soil. We know 
that as early as 1690 Nicholas Perrot . Fi-ench 
commandant of the west, built a post oppo- 
site to where l)ul)uque. Iowa, now is and that 
in 1695 Pierre Le Sueur built a foii (ui a large 
island in the Mississip])i River between Lake 
Pepin and the mouth of the St. Croix, which 
Charlevoix says became "the centre of com- 
merce for the western parts." Le Sueur dis- 
covered lead mines on both sides of the Miss- 
issi]:)]ii River (at Dulniqnc and (lalena), and 
Penicault, his reportei' and conipanion, speaks 
of the rapids at Rock Island. We kn(jw tliat 
agents of Anthony Crozat at some time be- 
tween the years 1712 and 1717 worked the 
lead mines around Dubuque and (lalena; that 
as early as 1792 printed maps of this country 
show the Rock Island Rapids, naming them 



16 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



"Nine-mile Rapids." and we further know 
that from 17S8 to 1810 Juhen Du IJiique with 
a force of Spanish, I''reneh and Indian miners 
operated tlie lead mines near where IJubuque, 
Iowa, now i.s, and floated his lead down the 
Mississippi to St. I.ouis and New Orleans, and 
it is not impossible that some of these people 
may have e.xplored this county and even lived 
here; hut the first record we have of a white 
man stopping at this locality is when Lieu- 
tenant Pike in 1S()5 made his trip up the Miss- 
issi])])!. 

FIKsr I'-L.^Ci IN THE t'PP]'.l! MISSISSIPPI VALLKY. 

On August 9, 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon 
M. Pike, an officer in the LTnited States Army, 
in command of twenty soldiers, left St. Louis 
(mder instructions from the government to 
trace the sources of the Mississippi River, 
ascertain the condition of the Indians, create 
a better feeling between them and the .Amer- 
icans and to select certain sites iipon which 
to erect forts. The party made the voyage 
in a keel boat seventy feet long, and on .\ugust 
27, 1805, the party arrived at the mouth of 
Rock River. 

Black Hawk in his autobiography says: 
."Some time afterwards a boat came up the 
river with a young .American chief, at that 
time lieutenant, and afterwards General Pike, 
and a small party of soldiers aboard. The 
boat at length arrived at Rock River and the 
young chief came on shore with his interpreter. 
He made us a speech and gave us some pres- 
ents, in return for which we gave him meat 
and such other provisions as we could spare. 

"We were well i)leased with the speech of 
the young chief. He gave us good advice 
and said our .American father wcuild treat us 
well. Ho presented us an American flag 
which we hoisted. He then requested us to 
lower the P)ritish colors, which were waving 
in the air, and to give him our British medals, 
promising to send us others on his return to 
St. Louis. This we declined to do. as we 
wished to have two fathers." 



The event related by Black Hawk, and 
occurring at the old Sac village on Rock River, 
in August. 1805. was the first raising and 
unfurling tif the United States flag in the 
valley of the vipper Mississippi River. All 
the country west of the ilississippi had until 
October, 1803, belonged to Spain, and Lieu- 
tenant Pike was the first American represen- 
tative to navigate the Mississippi north of 
St. Louis. 

THE W.\R OF 1812. 

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 gave the 
United States control of both banks of the 
upper Mississippi River. Previous to this 
time, but little was known of our upper river 
by the Americans, and not until Lieutenant 
Zebulon M. Pike under orders from our gov- 
ernment in 1805 came up the river from St. 
Louis, to discover its source, and to select 
locations for future United States posts, did 
our government have any definite knowledge 
concerning this country. 

Af the beginning of tlie year 1814 the war 
with England was still in progress and though 
the warfare was carried on mostly on the 
lakes, the Atlantic Ocean, and among the 
eastern states, the west, and especially the 
upper Mississippi River, were the scenes 
of important events, which owing to their 
distance from civilization, the lack of means 
and the length of time to transport news, 
were overlooked, and have failed to receive 
that recognition in American history that 
events of less importance, but happening in 
the east were accorded. 

St. Louis, the American headquarters for 
the vipper Mississippi River, Cap au Oris, a 
small French hamlet a few miles north of the 
mouth of the Illinois River, the deserted old 
post at Ft. Madison, the mines at Dubuque 
and the small French settlement and British 
post at Prairie du Chien were the only settle- 
ments on the upper river. 

Colonel Robert Dickson, a British trader 
during the years 1811-1813 had been active 
in inciting the Indians of the northwest, his 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



17 



object being to secure their aid in an attack 
on the American settlements at 8t. T.onis, 
Kaskaskia and Peoria. 

On March 27th, 1S13, Ninian Kdwards, 
territorial governor of Illinois, wrote the secre- 
tary of war: "If the British erect a fort at 
the mouth of the Wisconsin, and should be 
able to retain it two years, this and Missouri 
territory will be totally deserted, in other 
words, conquered." 

In the beginning of the year 1814 our gov- 
ernment decided to build a fort on the upper 
river at Prairie du Chien (the mouth of the 
Wisconsin Paver), where the British had the 
preceding year fortified the house of the Mac- 
inac Fur Company and stationed a company 
of Michigan fencibles (militia). 

THE FIRST EXPEDITION. 

On May 1, 1814, William Clark, governor 
of Missouri Territory, with a detachment 
consisting of sixty United States regulars of 
the Seventh Infantry, and one huiulrod and 
forty Illinois and Missouri rangers or volun- 
teers, left Cap au Oris in five fortified keel 
boats for the mouth of the Wisconsin River 
there to erect a United States fort. At the 
mcmth of the Rock River they had a slight 
skirmish with a party of Sauk (Sac) braves. 

About the middle of April, Colonel Dickin- 
son left Prairie dn Chien, taking with him 
most of the British forces, together with about 
three hundred Indian allies. Captain Deace 
was left in charge of the post. His command 
consisted of a company of Michigan fencibles 
and a body of Sioux and Fox Indians. When 
it was learned that an American force was 
nearing the Prairie, the Indians refused to 
fight the Americans, and Captain Deace and 
his British soldiers fled. 

Lieutenant Joseph Perkins, who was in 
command of the United States regulars, on 
his arrival at the Prairie, took possession of 
the place and immediately began the erection 
of a fort, which he named Fort Shelby in hon- 
or of Governor Shelby of Kentucky. As soon 



as the fort was coni])lcti'd Captain John Sulli- 
van's company of fifty rangers, thirty-two 
rangers from Cajitain Yeizer's company, to- 
gether with Go\i'rniir Clark, left Fort Shelby 
and returned to St. Louis, arriving there the 
hist of June. 

On the 17th of July Fort Shelby at Prairie 
du Chien was attacked by Colonel William 
McKay in command of one lumdred and fifty 
British soldiers and four hundred Sioux, 
Winnebago, Menominee and Chippewa Indi- 
ans, and on the evening of July 19th, the 
same day Campbell's expedition was defeated, 
Lieutenant Perkins surrendered Fort Shelby. 
The British renamed the fort, calling it Fort 
McKay. 

MAJOR CA.MPBELL's EXPEDITION. 

When General Howard, commandant of 
the American forces in the west, learned of 
the return of the troojjs from Prairie du t'hien, 
he immediately organized another expedition 
to be sent up the river to reinforce Fort Shel- 
by. 

On July 4, 1S14, the second expedition 
left Cap au Oris. It consisted of three forti- 
fied barges, or keel boats, each with a cabin 
and all having sails. There were thirty-three 
regular soldiers and sixty-five rangers (mili- 
tia), some of the latter being Frenchmen from 
Cahokia. The expedition including the sut- 
lers' establishment, boatmen, and women and 
children, making (uie lumdred and thirty- 
three persons. This expedition was com- 
manded by Lieutenant (acting Brigade Ma- 
jor) John Campbell of the First Regulars 
(infantry), who with the regulars, contractors, 
sutlers, women and children, occupied one 
boat. The two other boats being occupied 
Ijy the rangers and were commanded by 
Lieutenant Stephen Rector and Lieutenant 
Jonathan Riggs. The number of regulars in 
this expedition has beea repeatedly given as 
forty-two; Major Campbell, however, reports 
that he had but thirty-three. 

On the thirteenth of the month, about 
eighty miles below the mouth of Rock River, 



18 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



they met a party of Indians from Prairie du 
Chien. •vvith a paclcet directed to (Jovernor 
Clark. These Indians informed Campbpll 
that everything was quiet, and that the gar- 
rison at the Prairie (Prairie du Chien) had 
been completed. The same day Lie\itenant 
Rector, of the rangers foiuid a canoe which 
had a considerable quantity of Indian prop- 
erty in it, and which had just been abandoned. 
On the ISth of .luly, al)out twenty miles 
below the mouth of Rock River, the ex- 
pedition was met by a party of nine Indians 
in canoes, bearing a white flis:, who informed 
Major Campbell that they had heard of the 
American's approach and had come to conduct 
them to their own town, and to inform them 
that the Sacs and Foxes were friendly dis- 
posed. The Indians left the keel boats a 
few miles below the mouth of Rock River, 
at the mouth of which the boats were met by 
five other Indians in canoes, who informed 
the commander that the Indians at the vil- 
lage on Rock River, about a m\\f above its 
mouth, wished to hold a council with him. 
The keel boats proceeded up the river and 
landed on the Illinois shore o])]V)site the lower 
end of the Island of Rock Island. In a short 
time, about one hundred and fifty warriors, 
besides women and children of the Sac and 
Fox nation appeared. Black Hawk was at 
the head of the party. He approached Ma- 
jor Campbell ■ and asked if he had brought 
any presents for him from his f'l.ther. Major 
Campbell told Black Hawk he had, provided 
he fulfilled the premises he had made his 
father in the spring, which was to go to war 
with the Peaus (Winncbagoes.) Black Hawk 
replied that he had made his father no such 
promises, and that his "father was drunk 
when he said so," but that he was ready to go 
to war with the Peatis if the government 
would furnish him with the means. He fur- 
ther said: "The Mississipjji is a broad and 
straight road and the people of the United 
States shall meet with no obstructions in 
traveling." 



During the evening the Indians were very 
friendly, recognizing many old friends among 
the Frenchmen from Cahokia. 

THE BATTLE OF CAMPBELL'S ISLAND. 

On the morning of July 19, before break- 
fast, the boats all set sail and started up the 
river, with a fine breeze. During the night 
a party of Indians arrived at the Sac village 
from Prairie du Chien, coming down Rock 
River, Black Hawk said they brought the Sacs 
six keEfs of powder and told them that the 
fort at Prairie du Chien had been captiu-ed 
by the British. These messengers also told 
the Sacs that the British wished thein to again 
join them in the war against the Americans, 
which the Indians agreed to do. 

Black Hawk's memory is at fault. He does 
not state exactly what these Indian messen- 
gers told him. Colonel McKay, whose army 
of British and Indians had attacked Prairie 
du Chien, in a letter to his superior officer, un- 
der date of July 27, 1S14, says that on the 
17th of July, about three o'clock in the 
afternoon, after the gunboat "Governor 
Clark " had been driven from its position by 
the British cannon and had started down the 
river, that he immediately sent off a canoe 
with three men: an lowan. who had come 
from Mackinac with him, and two of the six 
Sauks, who had joined him on the Fox River, 
that he gave them four kegs of gun powder and 
ordered them to pass the "Governor Clark" 
and get as soon as possible to the rapids at 
the Rock River, where he believed the gun- 
boat would run aground; that they should 
collect all the Sauks and annoy the" Govern- 
or Clark" and prevent their landing to get 
fire w-ood, etc. 

Early in the morning. Black Hawk col- 
lected his warriors and determined to attack 
the boats, which had now started up the 
river. As Black Hawk says: "I collected my 
warriors and determined to pursue the boats. 
I immediately started with my party by land 
in p\u-suit, thinking that some of their boats 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



19 



might get aground, di- thai tho Croat Siiirit 
would put them in our jiower, if he wished 
them taken." 

The boats had just passed tlie liead of Rock 
Ishand when the Ijoat commanded by Major 
Campliell was grounded on the rocks, and he 
was compelled to discharge and put off part 
of her loading into the other boats liefore he 
could release his boat. 

After proceeding about six miles the wind 
increased to a hurricane. Campbell's boat 
being still heavily loaded, he says: "I was 
afraid of her dashing to pieces on the rocks, 
and ordered her to be put shore, which in do- 
ing from the severe gale of wind which was 
blowing, and the roughness of the water, 
dashed her so hard on shore it was imjiossible 
to get her off while the storm lasted." The 
boat was driven on the north .sliorc of an 
island lying about six miles east of Moline 
and which since that day has been known as 
Campbell's Island. It lies near the eastern 
shore in Rock Island County and hclouss to 
the State of Illinois. 

Black Hawk says: ".\bout half way up the 
rapids I had a full vii'w of the boats, all sailing 
with a strong wind: I soon discovered one boat 
badly managed and was suffered to be driven 
ashore by the wind: they landed by running 
hard aground, and lowered their sail, the 
others passed on." 

The ground where the boat landi'd was 
covered with high grass, hazel ami willow 
bushes for a considerable distance up and 
down the shore. Campbell immediately j^laced 
two sentinels about sixty yards from the I)oats 
and the men then commenced getting their 
breakfast. 

They had not been on the island more than 
twenty-five or thirty minutes when the Indi- 
ans commenced their attack, both sentinels 
were killed the first fire, and one other man on 
shore. Campbell ordered the cable cut and 
the boat to be gotten off, in doing of which 
two men were killed and three wounded. 
Finding the gale blowed directly on land, 



and that it was impossible to get her off, he 
ordered his men to defend the boat to the 
last extremity. 

The boats of Lieutenants Rector and Riggs 
were about three miles u]) the river at this 
time. Lieutenant Riga's' being in advance. 
He heard the report of the firing and saw 
the smoke rising from where t'ampbeH's boat 
lay. He tacked his boat and signaled Rector, 
who also tacked and lioth sailed for Campbell's 
float, Rector's lioat being the first to reach the 
scene of the battle. .Savages were seen among 
the trees and btishes, aiul a large number of 
Indians were seen coming in canoes from the 
eastern shore. It was estimated that afioiit 
four hundred Indians surrotinded them. Tlie 
savages commenced gi\ing their war-whoop 
and pouring in on theiu a, fire of musketry 
and arrows. Major Campbell's right wrist 
was fractured by a musket fiall during the 
first onslaught, and he was carried into the 
cabin of his boat and laid on a bunk, while 
his men gallantly returned the fire of the 
Indians. 

Campbell's boat was so near the bank that 
the Indians were ablei(ilii'<' in at the port oar 
holes. The storiu had now become so vio- 
lent that it was fully an hmu' before the other 
boats were able t<i come to Campbell's assist- 
ance. 

Riggs' boat was dri\-en ashore about one 
hundred yards below Campl)eirs boat, and 
Rector to avoid a siinilar fate, had let go an 
anchor, and lay about twenty yards above 
Campljell's lioat. The rangers from both 
barges kept up a brisk fire on the Indians. 

This unequal contest waged for several 
hoiu-s, when the firing from Campbell's boat 
becoming less frequent, led Lieutenant Rec- 
tor to believe that most of Campbell's men 
were either killed or wounded. 

Riggs' boat was the best fortified, but his 
crew had been weakened. When CamplieU's 
boat was stranded on the rocks he sent a ser- 
geant and ten men to help him off, and Camp- 
bell did not return the men. 



20 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Reotor's boat had among its crew many of 
the French from Cahokia who were experi- 
enced sailors. The wind was still a raging 
tempest, and the fire of tiie Indians was be- 
coming more destructive to the Imat";. "At 
this time," Black Hawk says, "I prepared mv 
bow and arrows to throw fire to the sail, which 
was laying on the boat, and after two or three 
attempts succeeded in setting the sail on fire." 
Campbell's boat was soon in flames. Lieu- 
tenant Rector could not remain inactive and 
witness, the horrifile death of Campbell and 
his companions. In the face of the tempest 
and the galling fire of the foe, he cut his an- 
chors, a number of his men got out into the 
water, keeping the boat between them and 
the Indians, they pushed their boat against 
the fire of the Indians up to Campbell's boat. 
The wounded in Campbell's lioat were first 
transferred to Rector's boat, and then those 
who were unhurt : so loaded was Rector's 
boat that the water was running in at the oar 
holes and almost all of the provisions were 
thrown overboard to lighten the boat. The 
Indians all the time kept up a murderous fire. 
In faking the men from Campbell's boat the 
Major was shot through the body. Black 
Hawk in his autobiography states at this 
time: "We wounded the war chief." 

Rector's men still in the water, and keeping 
the boat between them and the Indians, 
hauled their boat out into the stream, swim- 
ming alongside of the boat until the channel 
was reached and the boat had been carried 
out of gunshot, when they climbed into the 
boat. Rector's boat was crowded, l>ut the 
men took to their oars and rowed night and 
day until they reached St. Louis. 

The casualties were: killed on Campbell's 
boat, ten regulars, one woman and one child; 
on Rector's boat, one ranger, and on Riggs' 
boat, three rangers; a total of sixteen. 

AVounded on Campbell's boat, ten regulars 
and one woman: on Rector's boat, four rang- 
ers, and on Riggs' boat four rangers; also 



]\Iajor Campbell and Dr. Stewart, the garri- 
son surgeon, who was shot in the breast: a 
total of twenty-one, making the total eastial- 
ties thirty-seven. All fought with the cour- 
,age of heroes. Rector and his men risked 
their lives to save their comrades, and the 
battle at Campbell's Island has no equal for 
daring and heroism during the War of 1812 
in the west. 

Lieutenant John Weaver, of the regulars, 
who was second in command on Campbell's 
boat acted bravely; it was largely by his 
exertions that the wounded were safely 
transferred to Rector's boat. 

Almost all of the ammunition for the expe- 
dition and the supplies for Fort Shelby, ex- 
cept a box of musket balls, was on Campbell's 
boat and captured by Black Hawk, nothing 
being saved. The regulars fought with 
their shirts off, and saved only their arms 
and fatigue overalls. 

HL.\CK HAWK CELEBRATKS. 

After Riggs' boat had gone. Black Hawk's 
warriors began to plunder Campbell's boat. 
The first thing that the chief did was to 
knock the head in of several barrels of whis- 
key, which he termed, "bad medicine" and 
emptied their contents on the ground. He 
says, "I next found a box full of small bottles 
and packages, which appeared to be bad 
medicine also: such as the medicine men kill 
the white people with when they get sick, 
this I threw into the river." The rest of the 
plunder, which consisted of guns, clothing, 
provisions, powder, etc., was loaded into their 
canoes and taken to the Fox village opposite 
the lower end of Rock Island, where Daven- 
port now is. Before leaving, the Indians 
took the scalp from Campbell's five dead reg- 
ulars, and as Black Hawk said when he got 
to the Fox village, "We cominenced dancing 
over the scalps we had taken." 

Black Hawk's opinion of whiskey as a med- 
icine must have changed over night, because 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND C O'U N T Y 



21 



he does not complain at the soldiers giving 
his men whiskej' the evening licl'ore, yet the 
next day he thought it "bad medicine." 

While Black Hawk and his Indians were 
dancing over their scalps, sex'eral boats passed 
down the river, among them a large boat, 
"carrying big guns." These boats were the 
"Governor Clark'' and the contractor's and 
sutler's barges from Pi-airi(> du Cliieii, wliieh 
garrison Campboll's cxiu'dition \\as intending 
to strengthen, but \\liich had been attacked 
by the British under Colonel McKay, on the 
seventeenth, two days ])revious. 

Captain Yeizer and his gvmboats leaving 
Prairie du Chien during the afternoon on the 
first da}' of the attack and started for St. 
Louis, leaving Lieutenant Perkins and his 
command, which consisted of sixty men, to- 
gether with two women and one child, to hold 
the fort which surrendered July 19th, after a 
three day's siege. 

THE DERELICT. 

Lieutenant Cnnipljell's boat lay for many 
years on the north shore nf Campbell's 
Island, wdiere the State Monument now stands. 
Benjamin Goble, an old settler often told of 
seeing the hull imbedded in sand. He says: 

"Soon after Stephens left, two men named 
Smith, took possession of his claim, there 
were two cabins on it, but neither had a floor. 
The river was low, so that the hull nf the Inirge 
burned by the Indians at the time of Camp- 
bell's defeat in 1812, (a mistake, it was 1S14) 
was plainly visible. The Smiths got the liuU 
ashore, found the planks in a good state of 
preservation and floored tlnnr cabins with 
them." This was in 1829. The Stephens 
whom he mentions was a planter from the 
south, who located where Walker Station, 
two miles east of Moline, now is.'' 

^^.\JOR TAYLOR,'* BATTLE. 

After the capture of Fort Shelby by the 
British, Colonel A\'illiam McKay left for Maci- 
nac and Captain Thomas G. Anderson was in 



command. The British had great influence 
with the northwest Indians, and it is not to be 
wondered at as they made the Indians be- 
lieve that the Americans wcndd drive out the 
Indian, while the British wanted the Indian 
to retain his lands. In a letter dated August 
21, 1814, Colonel R. McDonall, British com- 
mandant, wrote C'aptain Anderson: "Assure 
them (Sacs and Foxes") that great efforts are 
being made by the king in their behalf, and 
that the ministry .-ire determined to make no 
peace till the lands plundered from the In- 
dians are restored. To attain tliis purpose, 
great reinforcements of troops are coming 
o\U." 

C)n August 14th, Lifuitenant Duncan Gra- 
ham with six men and an interpreter, left 
Fort McKay for the Sac village near the mouth 
of Rock River, his mission being to enlist the 
Sacs in an expedition to bring up an American 
gunboat which had been abandoned at a 
point a short disl.-mce above the unoccupied 
Fort Madison. 

On August 21st, the British at Fort McKay 
were apprised by the Fox Indians that a third 
American expedition was on its way up the 
Mississippi River from St. Louis, and Cap- 
tain Anderson, commanding Fort McKay, 
sent a dispatch to Lieutenant Graham at the 
Sac village on Rock River, requesting him to 
learn all about the Americans and to inform 
him. At this time there were about 800 
braves at the Rock River village. Graham 
returned to Fort McKay, and on the 27th was 
again sent to the Sac village near the mouth 
of Rock River. This time he had with him 
a company of British soldiers numbering 
thirty men, also one brass three-pounder and 
two swivels, his object being to annoy and 
harass the American expedition and if possi- 
ble defeat them and drive them back to St. 
Louis. 

The American expedition was formed at 
Caj) au Gris, and consisted of eight large for- 
tified keel boats, carrying a detachment of 
334 soldiers, and started on August 23d. It 



22 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



was commanded by Major Zachary Taylor, 
afterwards President of the United States. 
On the afternoon of September 5th, the Amer- 
ican fleet arrived at the mouth of Rock River. 
Lieutenant Graham on his return to the Rock 
River village found that the Indians now 
numbered about fifteen hundred, several 
bands of AVinnebagoes and Sioux having 
joined the Sacs and Foxes, who he said 
"would stand by us to the last man." Gra- 
ham wrote that he would take his position on 
Rock Island at the rapids, which was the best 
place for defense that he knew on the Miss- 
issippi. On September .oth the British sol- 
diers moved their guns and planted them on 
the west side of the island at the narrowed 
part of the channel, about where the present 
bridge rests on the island. At 4 o'clock in 
the afternoon the American fleet appeared in 
sight of the British. A storm of rain, thim- 
der and lightning came on which compelled 
the American boats to land at the small Wil- 
low Island, about sixty yards above Credit 
Island (now Suburban Island, Davenport; . 
Here the Americans decided to pass the night. 
Large numbers of Indians appeared on the 
Illinois and Iowa shores as well as on Credit 
Island. Init not a gun w.as fired. Early the 
morning of the 6th the British and Indians 
crossed the Mississippi River to the Fox vil- 
lage on the west bank and went as quickly as 
possible through the jirairie to the beach 
op])osite the American boats, where they had 
a close view of them. Lieutenant (iraham 
selected the Sioux to guard the cannon be- 
cause he said "as they promised they would 
rather be killed to the last man than give up 
the guns." The British planted their guns 
on an elevated spot, where they commanded 
a view of the Willow Island as well as the 
upper part of Credit Island. This place is 
'about where the dam commences that leads 
to Suburban Island. The night before Gra- 
ham had cautioned the Indians not to fire 
without orders from him, but a Saidv warrior 
dtiring the night shot a corporal on one of the 



American boats commanded by Captain 
Whiteside. At daylight Major Taylor or- 
dered his men to attack the Indians and 
drive them from the Willow Island, where 
they had appeared in large numbers. The 
American soldiers charged the enemj^, who 
retreated, wading to Credit Island. Major 
Taylor then ordered Captain Nelson Rector 
to drop his boat down to Credit Island and 
rake the island with artillery and drive the 
Indians off. Rector did so, the Indians re- 
treating unto cover. 

Of Rector's charge an early writer said' 
"Captain Rector was dressed richly, with a 
splendid military uniform and a large red 
feather in his hat. Thus equipped, he drew 
his sword and walked deliberately on an open 
sand beach, a short distance from the enemy, 
and ordered his company to follow him. 
Many Indian guns were fired at him, which he 
disregarded as if they were popguns. He 
escaped, but it was miraculous, as he was 
alone in advance of his cotnpany." 

Captain Nelson Rector was a brother of 
Lieutenant Stephen Rector, who on July 
19th so heroically rescued Lieutenant Camp- 
bell and his ill-fated boat's crew at Camp- 
Ijcll's Island. 

At this time, abotit 7 o'clock, the British 
guns began to play on the American boats. 
The first shot passed through Lieutenant 
Hempstead's boat. Lieutenant Graham in 
his report dated September 7th said: "In 
about three-quarters of an hour the largest 
of their boats, which was ahead of the others, 
after having about fifteen shots through her, 
l)egan to push off, and dropped astern of the 
rest, and made her way down the current. 
The others soon followed her. We kept firing 
at them along the bank as far as the ground 
would permit us to drag the guns, but they 
soon got out of our reach." The engagement 
lasted about one hour. Major Taylor in his 
report sai<l: "I was compelled to drop down 
about three miles before a proper place pre- 
sented itself for landing, as but few of the 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



23 



boats had anchors sufficient to stop them in 
the river. Here I halted for the purpose of 
having the wounded attended and some of 
the boats repaired, as some of them had l)een 
injured by the enemy's artillery." The land- 
ing was on till' Illinois shore. 

The I^riti.-h and Indians had no losses, 
while the Americans had eleven men Ijadly 
wounded, thr"c mortally. Taylor's fleet re- 
turned to St. I.onis. \n early writer said: 
"1 saw ill the harbor at St. Louis the boats 
that were in Tayloi-'s battle at Rock Island, 
and tlicy wcr(> riddled with the cannon balls. 
I think the balls were nuidc of lead --at any 
rate they picrcnl the boats considerably.'' 

This was tlie third American expedition up 
the i\lississi]ipi River in the year 1S14, all 
ending in defeat and disaster. The liritish 
and Indians had possession of the country 
until December ■Jltli, when the jjeace of (ihent 
ended tlie war. 

In his autobiograpliy. Black Hawk says: 
"The British landed a big gun and gave us 
three soldiers to manage it." Writers of 
Western History have differed regarding 
Taylor's engagement, some accepting Black 
Hawk's version, have credited the battle as 
solely an Indian victory, saying the Indians 
were re-inforced by only three British sol- 
diers and one cannon. Others have said 
that there were present a large number of 
British soldiers. Neither Taylor or Graham 
knew who was in command of the other party, 
and nowhere was I al:)le to learn the details, 
until during the winter of 1906 and 1907, I 
found in the Canadian archives the corre- 
spondence between the British officers relat- 
ing to the part they took in this early western 
event. From these archives, I learned that 
Black Hawk had a company of British sol- 
diers with three cannons. That the cannon 
were first planted on the Island of Rock 
Island two years before the erection of Fort 
Armstrong, on ground afterwards occupied 
by Fort Armstrong and that Suburban Island 
as early as 1814 was known as Credit Island. 



FIRST SETTLI'IRS. 

The first while setth^r in this county was 
George Davenport, who came to tlK> Island of 
Rock Island in the spring of ISIG with Colo- 
nel William Lawrence and the Eighth Regi- 
ment of United States regulars at the time 
Fort .-\rmstrong was built. In LSI 7 Da^•en- 
port built a double log cabin on the Island of 
Rock Island at the ])lace where the "Old l)nv- 
enjiort House" now stands, one part of which 
he used as a store in which he carried on the 
business of an Indian trader. The old ruin 
now standing on the north shore of the island 
was Imilt in 1833 and was foi- many years the 
most [iretentious residence abo\'e St. Louis, 
the timbers in the old Trading House being 
used in constructing llie new dwelling, in 
IS'24 Russell Farnhain came from Warsaw 
and entered into partnership with Davenport 
uiuler the firm name of Davenport it Farn- 
ham. In 1826 Davenport and Faridiain built 
the house on the main land just west of the 
V. L. Cable residence and afterwards occu- 
pied by .John Barrel. This house was used 
for many years as the seat of justice for this 
county and in our county records is referred 
to as the "House of John Barrel." 

In 1828 the country along Rock River had 
not been surveyed and consequently was not 
'open to entry. Yet the fame of the fertility 
of the soil and the beauty of the country had 
attracted the pioneer who is always in ad- 
vance of the settler, and who often is termed 
the scjuatter, and these people relying u|ion 
tlie protection of L^ort Armstrong began to 
select homes in this valley. During the year 
1828 there were eight settlers to arrive — Caj)- 
tain B. W. Clark, an old soldier named Haney, 
Judge Pence, who settled on Rock River, 
and John Kinney, Thomas Kinney, George 
Harlan, Conrad Leek and Archibald Allen, 
the last five settling where Rapids City now is. 

The year 1S29 brought a number of new- 
comers — Judge John \\ . Spencer, who had 
been here the year before; Louden Case, Sr., 
and his three sons, Jonah, Louden, Jr., and 



24 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Charles, who settled on what is now known 
as the Case place on Rock River; Rinah Wells 
and his four sons, Rinah, Jr., Lucius, John 
and Samuel, who also settled on Rock River; 
Joel Wells, Jr., who settled near Hampton; 
Joel Wells, Sr., Levi and Huntington Wells, 
who settled at Moline; Joseph Danforth a 
mile above Moline; Michael Bartlctt where 
Deere i^c Mansur's factory, Moline, now is; 
George Goble and his son, Benjamin, about 
two miles above Moline; William Brashar, 
who settled south of the present city of 
Rock Island; Joshua A'andrruff and his sons, 
who settled on \'andruff's Island; Charles H. 
Case and Benjamin F. Pike. 

SL.VVERV. 

At this time in the southern part of the 
the state negroes were held in bondage, under 
what was known and recognized as the inden- 
tured or registered servant's act. . This was 
contrary to the ordinance of 1787 which 
governed the admission of Illinois into the 
union as a state, but our Legislature enacted 
laws which our courts upheld, by which 
slavery existed in Illinois. In May, 1829, 
a man named Stejihens from St. Louis settled 
on the Mississippi where Walker Station now 
is, two miles east of Moline, bringing with him 
twenty black slaves, and built two cabins". 
There were but few settlers in this locality, 
but this new departure was not in accord with 
their ideas, and in October Joseph Danforth 
traveled to the nearest justice of the peace, 
who resided at Galena, and seciu'ed from him 
a warrant for Stei)hens' arrest for holding 
slaves. George Goble, the father of J^enjamin 
Goble, knowing Danforth's intention, warned 
Stephens, who immediately started south 
with his slaves. Stephens' two cabins were 
afterwards taken by two brothers named 
Smith, who floored the cabins with planks 
taken from the hull of Major ("ampbell's keel 
boat, which had burned only to the water's 
edge, and which had lain imbedded in the 
sand on Campbell's Island where it stranded 



on that ill fated July 19, 1814. No one after 
this ever tried to own slaves in this county, 
although some of the officers at Fort Arm- 
strong had negro servants, some of whom 
were held as indentured blacks, a few as 
slaves. One of the latter afterwards gained 
national prominence. 

Dred Scott was a negro slave owned by Dr. 
John Emerson, a surgeon in the United States 
Army, and in the year 1834 came with the 
doctor from Missouri to Fort Armstrong on 
Rock Island, where the doctor was stationed. 
Scott remained at Fort Armstrong until 
May, 1836, when he went with the doctor to 
Fort Snelling (now Minnesota) where he 
married Harriet, a slave of his master, and 
had two children. Slavery was illegal in 
both places; in Illinois by our constitiition ; 
in Minnesota (Upper Louisiana Purchase) by 
the Missouri Compromise. 

In 1838 Scott was taken to Jefferson Bar- 
racks, a military post at St. Louis, Missouri, 
and here an action was brought in the cir- 
cuit court of the state by Scott to test the 
question of his freedom. The St. Louis court 
held that Scott's residence on free soil had 
made him Free. The case was appealed to 
ths supreme court of Missouri which court 
reversed the decision of the St. Louis cir- 
cuit court and held Scott was a slave. In 
the meantime Dr. Emerson had sold Dred 
and his family to John F. A. Sanford of New 
York and suit was brought against Sanford 
in the United States court for Scott's freedom. 

This case was tried at St. Louis on May 
15th, before the court and a jury, and the 
latter found that "Dred Scott was a negro 
slave, the lawful properly of the defendant." 
A new trial was refused, and Scott carried his 
case to the supreme court of the United States. 

The final decision in the Dred Scott case 
was the longest, and up to that period, the 
most interesting one ever given by the su- 
preme ct)urt of the United States. It is re- 
ported in the 19th Howard. The substance 
of the decision was: 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



"Scott was not made free by lieins; taken to 
Rock Island in the State of Illinois. As Scott 
was a slave when taken to I'ort Armstronji 
into the State of Illinois by his owner, and was 
then held as s\ich, and brought back into 
Missouri in that character, his status, as free 
or slave, depended on the laws of Missouri, 
and not of Illinois, He and his family were 
not free, but were, by the laws of Missouri, 
the property of the defendant." 

THE SETTLEMENT OF T;,VNDS. 

In 182S and the early ])art of IS'i!) tieorge 
Davenport and Russell Farnhani entered 
the lands \ipon which the old fair grounds 
were located, and which extended from there 
about one mile east. William T. Brashar 
entered the lands upon a portion of which is 
now located Chippianock Cemetery. These 
and other pre-emptions were upnn lands that 
had for nearly a century been the village and 
the cornfields of the Sacs. These entries 
were within the letter, but contrary to the 
spirit of the treaty of 1804. These lands 
were not open to settlers, nor IjrouglU, into 
the market until the latter part of 18'_'9, and 
one authority says: "Consequently all who^ 
had settled on them previous to this were 
trespassers, having violated the laws of con- 
gress and the pre-existing treaties. The 
most advanced settlements at that time did 
not approach nearer than fifty or sixty miles 
of Rock Island, and the lands for eviMi a 
greater distance had not been offered for sale, 
yet the government disposed of a few qiuir- 
ter sections at the mouth of this stream, cm- 
bracing the site of the village and fields cul- 
tivated by the inhabitants. The manifest 
object of this advanced movement upon the 
Indian settlements was to evade the pro\-isii)ns 
of the treaty, by having the governmental 
title to the lands pass into the hands of the 
individuals, and thus obtain .a ]irete\t for 
removing its owners west of the Mississippi. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF ROCK ISL.\ND COUNTY. 

By an act of the Illinois Legislature en- 
titled "An act to establish Rock Island Coun- 
ty," approved and in force February 9, 1831, 
it was provided by Section 1 thereof what the 
boundaries of this ccumty shall be. Section 
'2 provided that whenever it shall be made to 
appear to the satisfaction of the presiding 
judge of the circuit court of Jo Daviess Coun- 
ty, to which this county was then attached, 
that the said County of Rock Island con- 
tains three hundred and fifty inhal.)itauts, 
it shall be his duty to grant an order for the 
election of three commissioners, one sheriff 
and one coroner to serve in and for said coun- 
ty until they be superseded by the persons 
elected at the next general election, which 
shall take place after the special election here- 
in provided for. The act then states that 
after such election the said County of Rock 
Islanil shall l>e considered as organized and 
entitled to the same rights and privileges as 
the other counties in this state. Owing, how- 
ever, to the Black Hawk War no effort was 
made to organize the county until 183.3, when 
on Monday, July ■'■>. in jiursuance of due notice 
the legal voters of this county to the number 
of sixty-five met at the "House of John 
Barrel," anil elected county officers. 

THE BEGINNING OF TROUBLE. 

In the spring of 1831, when Black Hawk 
and his people returned from their winter 
hunt, they found the few white settlers whom 
they had left the fall before increased by many 
new comers. They found the Indian homes 
occupied by pale faces, and among their corn 
hills they found the white man's wagon, 
liut more aggravating yet, they found the 
bones of their ancestors disturbed and laid 
bare upnti the grounil by tlie white man's 
plow. Black Hawk and his people had borne 
much the past few years but this seemed too 
much. He protested, and was told the white 
man had bought the land from his white 



26 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



father in Washington. Ho could not under- 
stand this. Judge John W. Spencer in his 
"Reminiscences" says: "Black Hawk gave 
the settlers to understand that after this 
season they must go south of Rock River, 
or above Pleasant \'alley. * * * This 
move on the part of the Indians made it 
necessary for the settlers to look about and 
see what they could do for their protection,'' 
and, Judge Spencer says, "We had petitioned 
the governor of the state in the summer of 
1829 without his taking any notice, but now 
we concluded to try it again. We made a 
statement of our grievance, and of the order 
of Black Hawk for our removal, and for- 
warded it with all possible haste to the gov- 
ernor. This had the desired effect." 

THE ROCK ISL.^ND PETITION. 

The following is the petition sent to the 
governor by citizens of Rock Island: 

"April 30, 1S31. 
"His Excellency, the Governor of the State of 
Illinois: 
"We, the undersigned, being citizens of 
Rock River and its vicinity, beg leave to 
state to your honor the grievances which we 
labor under and pray your protection against 
the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians who have 
again taken pos.session of our lands near the 
mouth of Rock River and its vicinity. They 
have, and now are, burning our fences, des- 
troying our crops of wheat now growing by 
turning in all their horses. They also throat- 
en our lives if we attempt to plant corn, and 
say they will cut it up; that we have stolen 
their lands from thorn, and they are deter- 
mined to exterminate us, provided we don't 
leave the country. Your honor, no doubt, 
is aware of the outrages that were committed 
by said Indians heretofore. Particularly last 
all, they almost destroyed all our crops, and 
made several attempts on the owners' lives 
when they attempted to prevent their depre- 
dations, and actually wounded one man by 



stabbing him in several ]5laces. This spring 
they act in a much more outrageous and 
menacing manner, so that we consider our- 
selves compelled to beg protection of you, 
which the agent and garrison on Rock Island 
refuse to give, inasmuch as they say they have 
no orders from government; tlierefore, should 
we not receive adequate aid from your honor, 
we shall be compelled to abandon our settle- 
ment, and the lands which we have pur- 
chased of the government. Therefore, we 
have no doubt but your honor will better 
anticipate our condition than it is represented, 
and grant us immediate relief in the manner 
that to you may seem most likely to produce 
the desired effect. The number of Indians 
now among us is about si.x or seven hundred. 
They say there are more coming, and that the 
Pottawattomies and some of the Winnebagoes 
will help them in case of an irruption with 
the whites. 

"The warriors now here are the Black 
Hawk's party, with other chiefs, the names 
of whom we are not acquainted with. There- 
fore, looking up to you for protection, we beg 
leave to remain, yours, etc." 
^Signed) 

John Wells Thomas Lovitt 

B. F. Pike William Heans 

H. McNeil Charles French 

Albert Wells M. S. Hulls 

Griffith Ausbury Eli Wells 
Thomas Gardiner Asaph Wells 
J. Vandruff G. V. Miller 

S. Vandruff Edward Burner 

John L. Bain Joel Thompson 

Horace Cook Joel Wells, Jr. 

David B. Hail J. W. Spencer 

John Barrel Joseph Danforth 

William Henry William Brazher 

Erastus Kent Jonah H. Case 

Levi Wells Samuel Wells 

Joel Wells Charles French 

Michael Bartlet Benjamin Goble 

Huntington Wells CJentry McCall 
Thomas Davis 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



27 



THE INDIAN AOENT REPORTS. 

The settlers not hearing from Governor 
Reynolds and receiving no aid from the offi- 
cials at Fort Armstrong, apjjlied to the 
Indian agent, and he wrote the following 
letter: 

"Rock Island, May 15, 1831. 

"Respected Sir: I have again to mention 
to you that the Black Hawk (a Sac chief) and 
his party are now at their old \-illage on Rock 
River. They have commenced planting corn 
and say they will keep possession. I have 
been informed that they have pulled down a 
house and some fences which they have 
burned. They have also tinned thi^ir horses 
in wheat fields and say they will destroy the 
wheat so that the white people shall not re- 
main among them. 

"This is what I expected fr(jm their man- 
ner of acting last fall, and which I mentioned 
to you in my letter of the Sth October last. 
I would not be at a loss were it not for the 
seventh article of the treaty with the 8acs 
and Foxes of 3d November, 1S()4. 

"I respectfully ask, would it not bi' l)(>tter 
to hold a treaty with those Indians and get 
them to remove peaceably, than to call on the 
military to force them off? None of this 
band has as yet called on me for information- 
A few have been at my agency to have work 
done at the smith's shops. 1 have the honor 
to be, 

"Your obedient servant, 

"Felix St. Vraix, Indian Agent. 
"Gen. William Clark, Supt. Ind. of St. Louis.'' 

WHISKEY THE CAUSE. 

One of the settlers living on what is now 
Vandruff's Island, kept a sort of tavern where 
whiskey was sold, and here the Indians came 
to barter for fire water. Black Hawk saw 
his people bartering off their peltries and 
game f(n' whiskey and he saw the ruin that 
the white man's "fire water"' was creating 
among them. He protested and begged the 



white man to stop selling the Indians whiskey, 
but the sale went on. One day he, with 
some five or six of liis l)ra\-es, paddled in their 
canoe- from their village to Vandruff's 
Island. Silently the old chief marched up to 
the c-db'm followed by his braves. They did 
not stop to knock, but entered the door and 
silently rolled the barrel of whiskey outside 
the ca,l)in, knocked in the head with their 
tomahawks and allowed the ])ale faces' "fire 
water" to run on the ground. Then they 
rowed back to their village. 

This last act of the Indians greatly excited 
the whites and Benjamin F. Pike, a settler, 
.afterwards our first sheriff, was sent to Bi'lle- 
ville in St. Clair 0)unty to personally ask the 
governor for assistance. He took with him 
the f(dlowiug jietition frcun the settlers. 

THE SECOND PETITION. 

"Farnhaml)urg, M;iy lU, 1S31. 
"To his Excellency, tlie Governor of the State 
of Illinois: 
"We. the undersigned, citizens of Rock 
River and its vicinity, having previously sent 
a petition to your honor, praying your pro- 
tection against these Sac Indians who were 
at that time doing every kind of mischief as 
was set forth and represented to your honor; 
but feeling ourselves more aggrieved and our 
situation more precarious, we have been com- 
pelled to make our distress known to you by 
sending one of our neighbors who is well 
acquainted with oui situation. If we do not 
get relief speedily we must leave our habita- 
tions to these savages and seek safety for our 
families by taking thetn down into the lower 
counties and suffer our houses and fences to be 
destroyed, as one of the principal war chiefs 
has threatened if we do not abandon our 
settlement his warriors should burn our houses 
over onr heads. They were, at tlie tim(> we 
sent om- other petition, destroying our crops 
of wheat, and are still pasturing their horses 
in our fields, burning our fences, and have 



28 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



thrown the roof off one housp. They shot 
arrows at our cattle, killed our hogs, and every 
mischief. 

"We have tried every argument to the 
agent for relief, but he tells us they arc a 
lawless band, and he has nothing to do with 
them until further orders, leaving us still in 
suspense, as the Indians say if we plant we 
sh.all not reap, a proof of which we had last 
fall; they almost entirely destroyed all our 
crops of corn, potatoes, etc, I^elievin;;: we 
shall receive protection from your excellency 
we shall go on with our farms until the return 
of the bearer; and ever remain your humble 
supplicants, etc," 

This petition was signed by almost all the 
persons who signed the first petition. On 
his way to Belleville in St, Clair County, where 
Governor Reynolds lived, Mr Pike stopped 
over in Fulton County where he secured the 
following affidavit: 

"State of Illinois, Fulton County. 

"Personally appeared before me, Stephen 
Dewey, an acting justice of the peace in and 
for said County of Fulton, and State of Illi- 
nois, Hiram Sanders and Ammyson Chapman, 
of the aforesaid county and state, and made 
oath that some time in the month of April 
last they went to the old Indian Sac town, 
about thirty miles up Rock River, for the 
purpose of farming and establishing a ferry 
across said river, and the Indians ordered us 
to move away and not to come there again 
and we remained there a few hours. 

"They then sent for their chief and he in- 
formed us that we might depart peaceably 
and if we did not that he would make us go. 

"He therefore ordered the Indians to 
throw our furniture^ out of the house; they 
accordingly did so and threatened to kill us 
if we did not depart. We therefore discov- 
ered that our lives were in danger, and 
consequently moved back again to the above 
county. 



"We then supposed them to be principally 
Winnebagoes. 

"H. Sanders, 
"A. Chapman. 
"Sworn and subscribed this 11th day of 
May, 1S31. 

"Stephen Dewey, J. P. 

I!E^•.IA^H^; f. pike's affidavit. 

Upon his arrival at Belleville Pike prepared 
the following statement: 

"State of Illinois, St. C'lair County. 

"Present, Benjamin F. Pike, before me, a 
justice of the peace in and for the said county, 
and made oath and deposed, that' he has re- 
sided in the vicinity of Rock River, in the 
State of Illinois, for almost three years last 
past ; that he is well acquainted with the band 
of the Sac Indians whose chief is the Black 
Hawk, and who have resided and do now 
reside near the mouth of Rock River in this 
state; that he understands so much of the 
said Indian language as to converse with the 
said Indians intelligibly; that he is well 
satisfied that said Indians, to the amount 
of about three hundred warriors, are extreme- 
ly unfriendly to the white people; that said 
Indians are determined, if not prevented by 
force, to drive off the white people, who have 
some of them purchased land of the United 
States near said Indians, and said Indians to 
remain sole occupiers of the said country. 

"That said Indians do not only make 
threats to this effect, but have, in various 
instances, done much damage to said white 
inhabitants, by throwing down their fences, 
destroying the fall grain, pulling off the roofs 
of houses, and positively asserting that if the 
whites do not go away they would kill them; 
that there are about forty inhabitants and 
heads of families in the vicinity of said Indians 
who are immediately affected by said band of 
Indians; that said Pike is certain that said 
forty heads of families, if not protected, will 
be compelled to leave their habitations and 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



29 



homes from the actual injury that said 
Indians will commit on said inhabitants: that 
said band of Indians consists, as al)ove 
stated, of about three hundred warriors, and 
that the whole band is actuated by the same 
hostile feelings towards the white inhab- 
itants; and that, if not prevented by an armed 
force of men, will commit on said white 
inhabitants. That said Indians liave said 
that they would fight for their country where 
they reside, and would not permit the white 
people to occupy it at all. That s.aid white 
inhabitants are desirous to be protected, and 
tliat immediately, so that they may raise 
crops this spring and summer. 

" Benjamin F. Pike. 
"Sworn and subscribed l)efore me, this 
26th May, 1S31. 

"John H. Dennis, J. P." 

GOVERNOR REYNOLDS .\rT.S. 

Pike presented his petition from the Rock 
River settlers and these affidavits personally 
to Governor Reynolds, who (in the same day 
issued a call for se\'en hmidred mounted 
militia, to move the Indians west of th" Miss- 
issippi River. He also wrote the following 
letter to General Clark, Superintendent of 
Indian Affairs: 

"Belleville, 26th May, IS.31. 

"Sir: In order to protect the citizens of 
this state, who reside near Rock River, from 
Indian invasion and depred.ations, I liave 
considered it necessary to call out a force (if 
militia of this state of abdut seven hundred 
strong, to remove a band of the Sac Indians 
who are now about Rock Island. The ob- 
ject of the government of the state is to pro- 
tect those citizens by removing said Indians, 
peaceably if thoy can, but forcibly if they 
must. Those Indians arc now. and so I have 
considered them, in a state of actual invasion 
of the state. 

"As yovi act as the public agent of the 
United States in relation to those Indians, I 
considered it my duty to inform you of the 



above call on the militia and that in or about 
fifteen days a snfticient force will a|ipear 
before said Indians to remove them, dead or 
alive, over to the west side of the Mississippi: 
but to save all this disagreeable business, per- 
haps a request from you to them for th(Mn to 
remove to the west side of the river would 
effect the object of procuring ]ieace to the 
citizens of the state. There is no disposition 
on the part of the people of this state to injure 
those unfortmiate and deluded savages if they 
will let us alone: but a go\'ernment that does 
not protect its citizens deserves not the name 
of a government. Please correspond with 
me at this place on this subject. 

"Your ol)edient servant, 

",IoHN Reynolds. 
"Gen. Clark, Supt., etc." 

Felix St. Vrain, the then agent for the Sacs 
and Foxes, had in the meantime gone to St. 
Louis and in the following letter sets out the 
situation at Rock River: 

"St. Louis, May 2S, 1S31. 

"Respected Sir: Since my last of the loth 
inst. on the sidjject of the band of Sac Indians, 
etc., the Indian village on Rock River near 
Rock Island. I have heard from the Indians 
and some of the whites ihat a house had been 
unroofed instead of jiiilled down and biu'ned, 
and that the fence had caught fire by acci- 
dent. .\s regards the destroying of the 
wheat, etc., the Indians say that a white man 
hauled some timber through a field and left 
the fence down by which means their horses 
got into the field. This, however, has l.)een 
contradicted by the white inhabitants of that 
place. They say that the Indians are con- 
stantly troubling them by letting their horses 
into their fields and killing their hogs, etc. 
This, however, I am confident is occasioned 
in a great measin-e by whiskey being given 
to the Indians in exchange for their guns, 
traps, etc. 

"I had a talk with the principal chief and 
braves of that band of Indians. I spoke to 



30 



HISTORIC ROC K ISLAND COUNTY 



the Black Thunder, who is the principal of 
that hand. I told them that they had sold 
those lands to the government of the United 
States and that they ought to remove to their 
own lands. They then said that they had 
only sold the lands south of the river. I then 
produced the treaties and explained to them 
that they had relinquished their rights as 
far as the Ouisconsin. Quash-quam-me (the 
Jumping Fish) then said that he had only 
consented to the limits being Rock River, but 
that a Fox chief agreed (as he understands, 
afterwards) for the Ouisconsin; that he 
(Qnash-quam-me^ had l)een deceived and that 
he did not intend it to be so. I had consider- 
able talk with them on this subject, and 
could discover nothing hostile in their dispo- 
sition unless their decided conviction of their 
right to the place could be construed as such. 
I have been informed that a white man and 
his family had gone to an Indian village on 
the borders of Rock River about forty miles 
from Rock Island, for the purpose of estab- 
lishing a ferry, and that the Indians at that 
place had driven them away at the same 
time saying to them that they would not 
hurt them, but they should not live there. 
This village is occupied by a mi.xture of 
Winnebago, Sac and Fo.x band and headed 
by the Prophet, a chief. I have the honor 
to be 

"Your obedient servant, 

"Felix St. Vk.jin, Indian Agent. 
"Gen. William Clark, Snpt. Indian .\ffairs, 
St. Louis." 

Upon receipt of (iovernor Reynolds' letter. 
General William Clark sent to General Edward 
P . Gaines the ffiUowinsr letter: 

"Superintendency of Indian Affairs. 
"St. Louis, May 28, 18:51. 
"Sir: I have the honor to inclose you a 
copy of a letter of 'JGth inst., just received 
from the fJovernor of Illinois, by which yo>i 
will perceive he has thought it necessary to 
call out a force of about 700 militia for the 



protection of the citizens of that state, who 
reside near Rock River, and for the purpose 
of removing a band of Sacs which he states 
are now about Rock Island. 

"As the commanding general of this divi- 
sion of the arm}', I have thought it my duty 
to communicate to you the above information; 
and for the purpose of putting you in posses- 
sion of the views of the government in rela- 
tion to this subject, as well as to inform you 
of the means which have been heretofore 
employed for the removal of the Sacs now 
complained of, I enclose to you herewith 
copies of my correspondence with the war 
department and with the agent for those 
tribes, also extracts from such of their reports 
as had immediate relation to the subject. 

"The Sacs and Foxes have been counseled 
with on the subject of their removal from the 
lands which they had ceded to the LTnited 
States. The prospect of collisions with the 
white settlers who were then purchasing 
those lands, and the interminable difficulties 
in which they would be involved thereby 
were pointed out, and had the effect of con- 
vincing a large majority of both tribes of the 
impropriety of remaining at their old village. 
They, therefore, acquiesced in the justice of 
the claim of the United States and expressed 
their willingness to comply with my request 
to remove to their new village on lowy River, 
west of the Mississippi, all but parts of two 
bands headed by two inconsiderable chiefs, 
who, after abandoning their old village, have, 
it appears, returned again, in defiance of all 
consequences. 

"Those bands are distinguished and known 
by the name of 'The British Party,' having 
been for many years in the habit of making 
antuial visits at Maiden in Upper Canada for 
the ])urposc of receiving their presents, and 
it is believed to be owing in a great measure 
to the counsels they have there received, that 
so little influence has been acquired over 
them i)y the L^nited States agents. 

"In justice to Keokuk, Wapello the Stab- 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



31 



bing Chief, and. indcpfl, all the other real 
chiefs and principal men of both tribes, it 
should be observed that they have constantly 
and zealously co-operated with tlie u;ovorn- 
ment agents in fiu'therance of its views, and 
in their endeavors to effect the removal of all 
their property from th(> cedeil lands. 

"Any information in my ]iossession which 
3'OU may deem necessary in relation to this 
subject will be ]iromptly afforded. With 
high respect, I ha\'e the honor to be 

"Your most obedient, servant. 
" William C'lark. 
" Maior-General Fdmnnd P. Ciaincs, Com- 
manding W'estern Department, U. S. X. 

"P. S. The agent for the Sacs and Foxes 
(Mr. St. A'rain) has received his instructions 
and will perform any service you may require 
of him with the Sacs and Foxes." 

General Clark the same day sent to Gov- 
ernor Reynolds the following communication 
in reply to his lettei-: 

"Supcrintendency of Indian Affairs, 
"St. Louis, May 28, IH'-U. 

"Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge 
the receipt of your letter of the 26th iiist.. 
informing me of your having considered it 
necessary to call out a force of militia of 
about seven hundred for the protection of the 
citizens of Illinois who resiile near liock 
Island invasion and for the purpose of remov- 
ing a band of Sac Indians who are now about 
Rock Island, etc. 

"You intimate that to prevent the necessity 
of employing this force, perhaps a request 
from me to those Indians to remove to the 
west side of the Mississippi would effect the 
object of procuring peace to the citizens of 
your state. In answer of which I would beg 
leave to observe, that every effort on my 
part has been made to effect the removal of 
all those tribes who had ceded their lands. 
For the purpose of affording you a view (in 
part) of what has been done in this matter, I 
enclose you herewith extracts from the re- 



ports of the agents for the Sacs and Foxes, 
by which it will be seen that every means- 
short of actual force, has lieen employed to 
effect their removal. 

" I have communicated the contents of your 
lett<'r to Cieneral Gaines, who commands the 
western di\'ision of the army, and who has 
full power to act and execute any military 
niOA-ement deemed necessary for the protec- 
tion of the frontier. I shall also furnish liini 
with such information regarding the Sacs and 
Foxes as I am possessed of, and would l)eg 
leave to refer ymi to him foi' any further pro- 
ce^edings in relation to this subject. I have 
the honor to Ije, with great respect, 
"Your obedient servant, 

" Wm. Clark. 

"His Excellency, John Reynolds, Ciovernor 
of Illinois. " 

Governor Reynolds certainly meant lousi- 
ness, for on the same day he sent the follow- 
ing letter: 

"iielleville. May 28, 18^1. 
"General Gaines. 

"Sir: I have received undoubted inf(U-ma- 
tion that the section of this state near Rock 
Island is actmdly invaded by a hostile IjatuI 
of the Sac Indians headed l)y Black Hawk; 
and in order to repel said invasion, and to 
lU'otect the citizens of the state, I have, under 
tlie provisions of the constitution of the 
I'nited States and the laws of this state, called 
on the militia, to the niinilier of 71)1) men, who 
will be mounted and ready for service in a 
very short time. I consider it my duty to 
lay liefore you the above inforinati(Ui, so as 
you, commanding the military forces of the 
United States in this part of the Union, may 
adopt such measures in regard to said Indians 
as you deem right. 

"Tlie above mentioned mounted volim- 
teers (becau.se such they will be) will be in 
readiness immediately to move against said 
Indians, and, as Executive of the State of 
Illinois, I respectfvUly solicit your co-opera- 



32 



HISTORIC ROCK I SLAX D COUNTY 



tion in this business. Please honor me with 
an answer to this letter. 

'•With sincere respect to your character, 
''I am. your obedient servant. 

"John Reynolds." 

To which letter General Gaines replied as 
follows : 

" H. Q. Western Department, May 29, 1831. 
"His Excellency. Governor Reynolds. 

"Sir: I do myself the honor to acknowl- 
edge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's 
date, ad^-ising me of your having received 
imdoubted information that the section of 
the frontier of yoiir state near Rock Island is 
invaded bj' a hostile band of Sac Indians 
headed by a chief called Black Hawk. That 
in order to repel said invasion, and to protect 
the citizens of the state, you have called on 
the militia to the number of 700 militiamen 
to be in readiness immediately to move 
against the Indians, and you solicit my co- 
operation. 

"In reply, it is m}- duty to state to you 
that I have ordered six companies of the 
regular troops stationed at Jefferson Bar- 
racks to embark tomorrow morning and 
repair forthwith to the spot occupied by the 
hostile Sacs. To this detachment I shall, if 
necessary, add four companies. With this 
force I am satisfied that I shall be able to 
repel the invasion and give security to the 
frontier inhabitants of the state. But should 
the hostile band be sustained by the residue 
of the Sac, Fox and other Indians to an ex- 
tent requiring an augmentation of my force, 
I will, in that event, communicate with Your 
Excellency by express and avail myself of the 
co-operation which you propose. But, tmder 
existing circumstances, and the present as- 
pect of our Indian relations on the Rock 
Island section of the frontier, I do not deem 
it necessan,^ or proper to require militia, or 
any other description of force, other than 
that of the regular army at this place and 
Prairie du Chien. 



••I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
"Your obedient servant, 

"Edmund P. G.uxes, 
"Major-General by Brevet, Command." 

General Clark the following day forwarded 
to the War Department at Washington the 
following commimication : 

"Superintendency of Indian Affairs, 
"St. Louis, May 30. 1831. 

"Sir: On the 2Sth inst. I had the honor 
of receiving a letter from the Governor of 
Illinois dated the 28th. informing me of the 
measures which he had considered it necess- 
ary to pursue for the protection of the citizens 
of his state from Indian invasion and for the 
purpose of remo\-ing a band of Sacs then 
about Rock Island. A copy of his letter and 
my answer herewith enclosed. 

■"Deeming the information received from 
the Governor of Illinois important, I immed- 
iately communicated it to General Gaines 
who happened to be in this place at the time, 
and shortly after was called upon by Govern- 
or Reynolds himself, to whom I gave such 
information respecting the Sacs complained 
of as had come to my knowledge, and also 
furnished him with such of the reports of the 
agent for those tribes as had relation to the 
subject. To the Commanding General I 
furnished similar information: and also for 
the purpose of possessing him of the views 
of the government on that subject, I gave 
him copies of such of my correspondence with 
the War Department as had any relation there- 
to. 

"I also enclose to you copies of two reports 
of the agent for the Sacs and Foxes of the 
1.5th and 28th inst. By the first it will be 
seen that the band complained of is deter- 
mined to keep possession of their old village; 
and it is probable from a knowledge of the 
disposition evinced in the matter by the Sacs 
and for the purpose of dispossessing them, 
that the Commanding General has thought 
proper to make a display in that quarter of a 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAXD COVSTY 



33 



part of the force under his command, six 
companies of which are now leaving this 
place for Rock River. The expedition (be 
the result what it may) cannot fail of pro- 
ducing good effects, even should the Indians 
be disposed to move peaceably to their own 
lands: and if not. their opposition should, in 
ray opinion, be put do'mi at once. 

"I have the honor to be. with high respect. 
"Your most obedient servant, 

■• WiLLiAii Clark. 
"The Hon. John H. Eaton. Secretan,' of War." 

GAIXE5 GOES TO FORT AR.MSTROXG. 

General Gaines immediately proceeded to 
Fort Armstrong and upon his arrival with his 
troops commenced putting the fort in condi- 
tion to ^"ithstand a siege if necessary-. The 
six companies he brought with him from Jef- 
ferson Barracks were strengthened by fotir 
additional companies from Fort Crawford, 
at Prairie du Chien. Wisconsin. All the 
settlers in this vicinity were warned of im- 
pending danger and came to the fort with 
their families, bringing their horses, cattle 
and everything of vahie that could be carried. 
The soldiers began target practice, and morn- 
ing and evening gims were fired, something 
not heretofore done. June .5. General Gaines 
sent for Black Hawk. Keokuk. Wapello and 
other chiefs for the purpose of holding a coun- 
cil. Black Hawk came to the council attended 
by all his chiefs and many warriors, all in war 
paint, carrying arms, and singing war songs. 
None but the chiefs were allowed to enter the 
fort, and here in the presence of Keokuk. 
Wapello, and other head chiefs. General 
Gaines told Black Hawk that he and his band 
must move west of the Mississippi River, and 
that if they did not go, he. Gaines, would move 
them by force. Gaines gave the Indians 
imtil the twentieth in which to move. Pre- 
vious to this Black Hawk had held two 
inteniews with the Prophet, a Winnebago 
living at his village where Prophetstown is 
now located. The Prophet claimed to have 



had visions or dream.s. and said that the 
white soldiers would do no one any harm: 
that their object was merely to frighten the 
Indians, and it was upon thLs information 
- - ^' -k Hawk acted. 

GAI.XES ASKS AID FROM THE GOVERXOR. 

After the council. General Gaines at once 
sent by special messenger the following letter 
to Governor Reynolds: 

""Headquarters. Rock Island. Jime 5. 1>>31. 
"■John Reynolds, Governor of Illinois. 

""Sir: I do myself the honor to report to 
Yotu- Excellency the result of my conference 
with the chiefs and braves of -the band of Sac 
Indians settled within the limits of yotu" state 
near this place. 

■"I called their attention to the facts re- 
ported to me of their disorderly conduct 
towards the white inhabitants near them. 
They disavow any intention of hostility but 
at the same time adhere with stubborn perti- 
nacity to their purpose of remaining on the 
Rock River land in question. 

"I notified them of my determination to 
move them, peaceably if possible, but at all 
events to move them to their own side of the 
Mississippi River, pointing out to them the 
apparent impossibility of their living on 
lands purchased by the whites without con- 
stant disturbance. They contended that 
this part of their country had never been sold 
by them. I explained to them the dit^'erer.- 
treaties of 1S04. "16 and ""2-5. and c< ; 
with a positive a.ssurance that they mus: n^ovc 
off. and that I must as soon as they are ready 
assist them \vith boats. 

■"I have this morning learned that they 
have invited the Prophet's band of Winne- 
bagoes on Rock River, with some Pottawat- 
omies and Kickapoos. to join them. If I 
find this to be true. I shall gladly avail my- 
self of my present visit to see them well 
ptmished: and, therefore. I deem it to be the 
only safe measure now to be taken to request 
of Yottr Excellencv the battalion of mounted 



34 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



men which yoii did mc tho honor to say 
■U'culd co-operate with me. They will find at 
this post a supply of rations for the men, with 
some corn for their horses, toiiether with a 
supply of powder and lead. 

"I have deemed it expedient under all the 
circumstances of the case to invite the fron- 
tier inhabitants to bring their families to this 
post mitil the difference is over. 

"I have the honor to be, with great respect, 
"Your obedient servant, 

"EnwAiji) V. CIaixe.^. 

"Major-General liy !:!revet. Commanding. 

" P. S. Since writing the foregoing remarks, 
I ha\e learned that the Winnebagoes and 
Pottawatomie Indians have actuallv been 
invited l)y the Sacs to join tlicm. I'.ut the 
former evince no disposition to (Mimplv: and 
it is suppo.sed by Colonel Cratiot, the agent, 
that none will join the Sacs, except, ])erhaps, 
some few of the Kickapoos. E. P. G." 

This letter evidently plea.sed Governor Rey- 
nolds for he said: ''I was very much rejoiced 
on receiving this letter, as it juit my whole 
proceedings on a legal and constitutional 
footing-, and the responsil)ilil\- of the war was 
removed from me to the I'niied States." 

THE settlers' .affidavits. 

While at Fort .Armstrong the settlers had 
prepared another petition, together with 
numerous aftidavits. which they presented to 
General Gaines. The following is the sub- 
stance of the dejjositions of sundry citizens 
of the Rock River settlement, taken before 
William Brasher, J. P., and ,b)el Wells, J. P., 
on the 10th of June, IH'M. 

"First. John Wells, .lohii W. Spencer, 
Jonah H. Case, Rennah Wells, Samuel Wells, 
Benjamin F. Pike, Jo.seph Danforth and 
Moses Johnson, before Wm. P>raz(>r, .(. P., 
swear that the Sac Indians did through the 
last year repeatedly threaten to kill them for 
being on their ground, and acted in the most 
outrageous manner; threw down their fences, 



burnt or destroyed their rails, turned horses 
into their cornfields and almost destroyed 
their crojxs. stole their potatoes, killed and 
ate their hogs, shot aiTows into their cattle 
and put out their eyes, thereby rendering 
them useless to their owners, saying the land 
was theirs, and that they had not sold it. 
In April they ordered the deponents to leave 
their houses, and turned from fifty to one 
hundred horses into one man's wheat field, 
threatening that the fields should not be 
reaped, although said owners had piu'chased 
the land of the XTnited States government. 
The Indians also IcA'eled deadly weapons at 
the citizens, and on some occasions hiu't some 
of the said citizens, for attemjiting to pre\-ent 
the destructiori of their projierty. Also that 
the Indians stole their horses, some of which 
were returned by the agent six or eight months 
after, and in a miserable condition: others 
were never heard of again. Nearly fifty 
Indians headed by their notoriotis war chief, 
all armed and equipped for war, came to the 
house of Rennah Wells, and ordered him to be 
off or they would kill him, which, for the 
safety of his family, he obeyed. They then 
went to another house, rolled out a barrel of 
whiskey and destroyed it. as well as conmiitting 
many other outrages to the knowledge of the 
deponents. 

"Second. John Wells, before Joel W'ells, 
J. P., swore that on the 30th day of Septem- 
ber, 1.S30, he saw two Sac Indians throwing 
down his fence, who said they were doing it 
for the i)urpose of going through, in whicli 
they jiersisted althotigh forbidden by the 
owner, and when the owner attempted to 
prevent them, one of them made a pass at 
him with his fist, and drew his knife on him. 

"Third. Rennah and Samtiel Wells, be- 
fore Joel Wells, J. P., swore that on the 29th 
of May a party of Sac Indians, calling them- 
selves chiefs, with Black Hawk at their head, 
came to the house of Rennah \\'ells. near the 
month of Rock River, and said that he must 
let the squaws cultivate his field, which Wells 



HISTORIC RO C K I S L A N D COUNTY 35 

refusing, they liccaiiic inucli (lis|ilcasc(l, and |)anf(irlli willi liis knitV, amLfinallv ili'scrtcd 

told him til gd iif'f: iipcm WCIls' i-cfusal they tlic grcuind, l('a\iii,Li; his knife." 
went a«;n'. Tliat cm tlie ne\l da\- tlie same 

,. r .■, , ,.,. . • , THK A(;E\T KKAKS riforBLE. 

chiets, with aliimt nity warnors, came, armed, 

and tciid WeUs that he must move nr they •'"ne 4. Ccneral (iaines wnile to Henry 

would eut the throats of him.self and family. <'i-atio1, suli-Indian agent, to investigate the 

andmakingmotions to that effect, upon which ■-situation at the Sac village at once; and on 

said Wells told them that he would take *'"■ twelfth that gentleman sent the foUow- 

counsel and tell them at three o'clock the ing reply: 

next day what would lie his determinatcm. " H.ock Island, .lune I'i, ls;51. 

Thi'\- consented, and went away; at the ap- "Sir: I have the honor to report to you 

pointecl lime they retiu'iied and told Wells that, agreeably lo my intimation to \'on I 

that lie must go off, which he accordingly visited the \illag<' of Sac Indians near this 

did, lea\ing all his ]iossessions to the Indians. ])lace yesterday fi-ii- the purpcise of iiersuailing 

"Foiirtli. Nancy Thomiison ami N'ancy off the \Mnncliagii I'mplicl and some \-(iung 
^^'ells befoi'c W. ,1. lirasher, swoi'c that in men of his hand whom 1 knew had pre\ionsly 
October, IS'M). two Indians i-csiding in llii' been t lici-i' , and. 1 bclic\c. wil h an intention to 
village forty or lift}- miles abo\i> tlie mouth sup|iort ihe Sac Indians. I found that the 
of Hock Ri\-er, and called Sacs oi' W'iimcba- Prophet had jusi left lliei-c inv his \illaui'. 
goes, came t(i thi^ house of Hcnnah Wells which is within my agency upon Rock Hi\-ei', 
and commenced chasing some sheep, as if they and although he had pnwionsly promisiMl 
would kill them. Those Indians were ordeicd that he would j-el ui'u hcinie :md I'emain there, 
to desist, u|ion which they drew their kni\'es I lun'e reason to belie\-e that his object is to 
and made at the wmnan, who being alai'uied, get as manv <if his band and ot the other 
called for assistance. Sanniel Wells being bands of the Winiu'bagoes (who resiili- at 
sick ill the house at tin' time, ran out with a Ruck l\i\ci-, within my agency) as he can. ior 
pitchfork, and the Indians pursuetl no farther. the purpose of joining the Sacs and ot suit- 
London Tv. Case heard the alarm given, ami porting them in their ])rcsent pretensions, 
joined. The Indians then returned to the "I lia\e recently been at some of the prin- 
river bank eiiihty or one hundred yai'ds (lis- cipal \-illages of Winnebagoes within my 
tant ; when Case, thinking they were still in agency, and have ascertained from un(|Ues- 
pursuit of the slice)), went to ascertain the tionable authority that, although they had 
truth, and coniimj, near the Indians they lieen invited to join the Sacs, they had re- 
wounded him se\'ei'ely ill threi' ]ilaces with a fused to do so. I think it will be prudent tor 
knife and tomahawk. me to follow the Ri-ophet, to prevent him 

'■Fifth, .loseph Maiiforth. before .loel Wells, fi-om iiiHuencing any of the Indians up the 
,1. 1'., swore that he saw Sacs at a fence be- rivei' lo join him. Should I, however, find 
longing to .lohn AWUs, who forbid them go- that am' of llu' warriors ha\e left before my 
ing through, when they continued throwing arrival amongst them, I will (if you think 
down the fence. Wells attempteij to prevent it best) return immediately to this [ilace, 
them, when one of the Indians struck him bmiging with me three or four influential 
with his fist, and drew his knife. Danforth chiefs, who can lie relied on and who will, 
got a stick, and the Indians making several with my assistance, I think, be able to con- 
attempts toward Danforth, he (Danforth) Irol them. 

knocked one of them down with his stick. "In my opinion there are at least 400 

The Indian rose several times and made at warriors at the Sac village which I visited 



36 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



yesterday, apparently determined to defend 
themselves in tlieir present position. On the 
receipt of your letter on the 4th inst., I 
immediately hastened to this place with a 
view to give you the most satisfactory infor- 
mation upon the subject of it and tender my 
services in any way you may think useful. 
"I am, respectfully yours. 
"Henry Gratiot, Sub-Agent, etc. 
"Major-General Gaines." 

THE ROCK RIVER RANGERS. 

At the suggestion of General Gaines the 
men and larger boys of the settlement formed 
themselves into a company, elected officers, 
and named themselves "Rock River Rang- 
ers," and tendered their services to General 
Gaines, who accepted the company of fifty- 
eight men, and mustered them into the ser- 
vice. No record of this company's enroll- 
ment has been found, it i)rol)al>ly never hav- 
ing been forwarded to Washington. Judge 
Spencer in his "Reminiscences," gives June 
5th as the date. The following is a roster of 
the company: 

Captain: Benjamin l'\ I'ikc. 

First Ijieutenant: .John \V. Spencer. 

Second Lieutenant: Griffith Auijury. 

Sergeants: Jam(\s Haskill Leonard Bryant, 
Edward Corbin. 

Corporals: Charles French, I5onj:imin fioble, 
("harles (jase, Henry Benson. 
Allen, Archibald Noble, .\mos C. 

Brashar, William T. Syms, Thomas 



Bane, John 
Bartlett, Michael 
Been, Joseph 
Case, Jonah H. 
Danforth, Joseph 
Davis, Thomas 
Dance, Russell 
Frith, Isaiah 
Gardner, Thomas 
Harlan, George W. 
Hultz, Uriah S. 
Hubbard, Thomas 



Syms, Robert 
Sams, William F. 
Smith, Martin W. 
Stringfield, Sevier 
Thompson, Joel 
Vandruff, .Joshua 
Vandruff, Henry 
VandrulT, Samuel 
\'annetta, Benjamin 
Vannetta, Gorham 
Varner, Edward 
Wells, Levi 



Hubbard, Goodridge 
Henderson, Cyrus 
Johnson, Moses 
Kinney, John W. 
Kinney, Samuel 
Leek, ('onrad 
I>evitt, Tliomas 
McNeil, Henry 
Miller, George 
McGec, Gentry 



Wells, George 
Wells, Joel Sr. 
Wells, Joel, Jr. 
Wells, Huntington 
Wells, John 
Wells, Samuel 
Wells, Rinnah 
Wells, Asaph 
Wells, Eri 
Wells, Ira 



THE ILLINOIS SOLDIERS. 

Governor Reynolds in defending his posi- 
tion in calling out the militia said: "If I did 
not act. and the inhabitants were murdered 
after being informed of their situation, I 
would be condemned from Dan to Beersheba; 
and if I levied by raising troops, when there 
was no necessity for it, I would also be re- 
sponsible." Governor Reynolds knew that 
the settlers had applied to the Indian agent 
and the military officers of the United States 
and had obtained no relief, and lie says: 
"I considered it my duty to call on the vol- 
luiteers to move the Indians to the west side 
of the Mississippi." It was but seventeen 
years after the close of thc^ war of 1S12 and 
these same Sacs and Foxes had fought the 
Americans in that war. There were many 
of the old soldiers still young enough to 
enlist and they inflamed the young men to 
appear against their old foe. The governor 
had e.Ktracts from the petitions sent him 
circulated throughout the counties from 
which he had asked for troops. Moreover, 
he made, as he says, "both ]3riv;ite and pub- 
lic speeches to the masses," and urged the 
people and his friends to turn out for the 
defense of the frontier. He adds: "The 
warm feelings of the late election for govern- 
or had not yet died away, and my election- 
eering friends converted their electioneering 
fever into the military, which was a powerful 
lever in the crusade for Rock Island." 

Although it was the most busy time in the 
year with the farmers some l.GOO responded 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



37 



to the governor's call and appeared at Beards- 
town on or about the 10th of Juno. Some 
were armed with muskets, some witli shot- 
guns and some with no firearms whatsoever, 
but all were mounted. The governor man- 
aged to purcliase enough muskets from a 
Beardstown merchant for the remainder of 
the troops. These muskets were light pieces, 
made with brass barrels for the South Amer- 
ican service, and answered tlie jiurpose. 
The governor appointed Joseph Duncan, 
then a meml)er of Congress and afterwartls 
governor of tiiis state, brigadier general to 
take immediate command of tlie brigade, 
and Sanniel Whiteside a major, to lake com- 
nuind of a s])y battalion. 

This army left its encampment near Rush- 
ville for Rock Island June 15, the governor 
marching with tlie brigade. After a ]ileasant 
march the army encamped at Rockport, now 
Andalusia. Here there had been previously 
erecteil a small log cabin or stockade, which 
was used as headciuarters. During the after- 
noon a steamboat arrived at the encainpirient, 
coming fmm Fort Armstrong, loadeil with 
provisions. Tlu> camp at Rockport was laid 
out according to military practice, ])ickets 
were placed, as it was feared the Inilians 
might make a night attack, and the utmost 
vigilance was nbserved. The night was a 
beautiful <inc ami it passed off quietly without 
any disturbance. 

GENERAL GAINES MAKES A DEMONSTRATION. 

On the ISth of June, General Gaines sent 
from Fort Armstrong the steamboat Enter- 
prise, carrying one company of soldiers and 
one cannon. The boat .steamed u]) Rock 
River, and passed the Indian village, the ob- 
ject being to overawe and intimidate the 
Indians. Black Hawk said: "'The water 
being shallow, the bout got around, which 
gave the whites some trouble. If they had 
asked for assistance, there was not a brave in 
my band who would not willingly have aided 
them." Judge John W. Spencer who was on 



the boat says: "Strange to say, although a 
steamboat was seldom seen in those days, 
the Indians seemed not to take the least 
notice of the biiat, not even looking at it, and 
even the women and children show'ed no signs 
of wonder or fear." 

PREPARE TO ATTACK. 

On the morning of ,fune 2()th, bright and 
early, fieneral Duncan marched his army 
from Rockport to a i:>osition on Rock River 
opposite the Sac village. An attempt was 
made to ferry the troops across, liut it proved 
too slow, and General Gaines being shown a 
ford by George S. Miller, the army marched 
across through the water to Vandruff's 
Island. General Ciaines left Fort Armstrong 
on the steamboat Elnterprise, which had been 
fortified, and which carried one company of 
regulars and several cannon. The Enterprise 
entered Rock River and steamed up stream 
until op|)osite the Sac \'illage where it met 
(ieneral Duncan's army with which it was to 
co-o]3erate. The other nine companies of reg- 
ular, together with tlii' Hock River Rangers, 
under command of C'aptain John Bliss, the 
then commandant of Fort Armstrong, 
maichcd from the fort to the Indian town. 

,Iudge Spencer in his Reminiscences says: 
" JMajor Bliss formed our company of Rock 
Ri-\-er Rangers in an extended line of a half 
mile in front of the regulars, with one cannon 
in the rear, for our march for Rock River. 
We marched near where the road is now 
traveled until we reached General Rodman's 
land, then turning to the left until reaching 
the top of the bluff, taking the direction of 
Black Hawk's Watch Tower. On arriving 
there, we planted the cannon on the brow of 
tlie bluff and then commenced throwing 
grape and cannister into the bushes on Van- 
druff's Island." Vandruff's Island at this 
time was covered with bushes and vines so as 
to be impenetrable to the .sight at a distance 
of twenty feet. The Enterprise was run to 
the lower point of the island and several 



38 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND C U N T\Y 



rounds of grape and caniiister were shot into 
the bushes to see if any enemy was there. 
The spy battaHon under Whiteside then 
formed a line of batth^ and swept the island, 
and it was then loarned that the north bank 
of Rook River was so near and so high that 
the firing had no effect. General Duncan's 
army followed in the wake of Whiteside's 
spy battalion and before they got to the north 
side of the island the army was so jammed up 
and mixed together that no luic knew where 
his company or regiment was. In the mean- 
lime Captain Bliss with the regulars and the 
Rock Ri\er Rangers had learned that it was 
imi^ossible from that distance' to distinguish 
Indians from regulai-s ui- volunteers, and that 
their shots were as Hkely to kill friend as foe. 
The Indian village now became exposed to 
view Init no Indians were to be seen. The 
ri\-er. narrow lint dee]), lay between the army 
and the village, and the main part of Duncan's 
armv remained on the island until scows were 
found in which they wei'c fci'ried aci'oss." 

Black Hawk says; "We ci-Dssril lhe i-i\-er 
during the night ami eiicauipcd siuiic disl;mce 
belc.w Rock Island." lie said hr would \\-a\v 
remained and been laken pi'isoner by tlic 
regulars but thai he "was afraid of tlic multi- 
tude of palefaced mililia. who were on horsi^- 
back. as th(>\' were undi'r no rcsti'aint of their 
chiefs." 

THK VsrKMXC OF SAC \ILL.\(:E. 

The Illinois militia had ccmie to fight 
Indians and when thi'y foimd the redmen 
gone, they became determined to l)e avenged 
upon something. Shortly after they reached 
the Indian village it began to rain and soon 
the rain descended in torrents, and early the 
morning of the 2(ith, the troops commenced 
setting fire to the houses. Soon the frail 
dwellings were wrapjied in flames and in less 
than one hour's time almost every wigwam 
in the village was in ashes. CJox-eruor Ford 
who was present said: ".^nd thus ]5erishe(l 
an ancient village which had once been the 



delightful home of six or seven thousand 
Indians; where generation after generation 
had been born, had died and been buried; 
where the old men had taught wisdom to the 
young; whence the Indian youth had often 
gone out in parties to hunt or to war, and 
returned in triumph to dance around the 
spoils of the forest, or the scalps of their 
enemies; and where the dark-eyed Indian 
maidens by their presence and charms, had 
made it a scene of delightful enchantment to 
many an admiring warrior," 

THE ST.\MPEDE. 

The army spent the night at the Indian 
town, the regulars, however, going back tf) 
the fort. On the morning of .Jime 26, Gener- 
al Duncan marched his army to the Mississ- 
i])pi River and encamped on the exact spot 
where the City of Rock Island is now located, 
the camp extending from where the Rock 
Island Railway Com])any's freight dejiot is 
now located down to wheie the present ferry 
dock stands. 

Th(> horses, some sixteen hunili'cd, were 
pastured in tli<' bend of the river below ami 
a strong g\uu-(l placcnl around them. During 
the .second night a steamboat came up the 
river and when o]i])osite where the horses 
were kept commenced blowing its whistle. 
This unnatural noise at night so frightened 
the animals that they broke loose and stam- 
peded, and it was with difficulty that their 
guards escajied being trampled to d(^ath. 
The frightened animals ran oiU on the jirairies, 
up and down both river lianks, and it was 
several days before they could be recovered, 
some few liowe\-er being lost. 

BI^ACK HAWK FDIiCEn TO SIGN' THE TKEATY. 

General Gaines m\ the 27th .sent a notice 
to Black Hawk that if he did not come to 
Fort .\rmstrong he would come after him 
with his army, a few of the Indians appeared 
but not Jilack Hawk. Gaines then sent a 
perem})tory order to the chief and in a few 



// 1 ST ORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNT Y 



39 



days Black Hawk and his chiefs and head- 
men to the imiiiher (if twenty-eight ap]3eared 
at Fort Aim St rent!,-, and (in June :^(1th, 1S31, 
a new treaty was sitrned liy wliicli the British 
hand (if Sacs again agreed t(j make their 
homes (in the west side of the Mississippi and 
ne\'er to cross such l■i^•('r, e.\ce])t with the 
consent of the I'residcut of the rnit(>d States 
or of the tuA-eriKir (if IHiiidis. iilack Hawk 
signed tliis treaty and then for the first time 
ratified, against his will, the treaty of 1804. 
This treaty was signe(l liy (lener.al (laines 
and ' l(l^•l■rn(lr Hevudlds fdr the I'nited States, 
and liv I'ljack Hawk and I \\enty-se\'en cliiefs 
and warridrs f(ir tlie Sacs and l'\)\es. The 
volunteer army was init ^alisfic(l with the 
result of this cam])aign and called tlu' treaty 
a "Corn Treaty" liecause (lenci'al (laines liad 
gi^■en 1(1 tlie destitute Indians curn to keep 
them from starving. The ai'my was dis- 
banded on Juh' '2d, and tlic men i-eturned to 
their hduies. Ndt a man was injured (ir 
killed, either by accident (ir by the Indians; 
nor did any die of disease, and strange to say 
udue fwv ap|ilii'(l f(ir a pensidU. This ended 
the first Black Hawk campaign. 

For a long time after the signing (if this 
treaty there was Cdnsi(_lei'abl(' discussidu and 
much feeling over the cpuistion whether 
Generals Gaines and Dimcan knew that Black 
Hawk and his Indians had des(M-te(.l their 
village on the night of the U)th of Jime. 
Thomas Ford, afterwar(^ls Governor (if Illinois, 
wild was a militia ^•(llullteer and marched 
ahead with the spies, said: 

"Gaines and Duncan had reasdii td belie\'e 
befdre the commencement of the march from 
the camp on the Mississipjii, that the Indians 
had departed from their village; that measures 
had been taken to ascertain the fact befdr<> 
the vohmteers crossed to Vandruff's Island; 
General Duncan, in company with the ad- 
vanced guard, following the spies, preceded 
the main army in crossing, and that this will 
account for the want of order and confusion 
in the march of the troops." When the 



militia arrived opposite the Sac village the 
greatest confusion reigned in their midst. 
George S. Miller, a resident df this county, 
acted as guide, and when it became kudwn 
that the Indians were not in the ^•illage, 
(ieneral Duncan In^gan to reprimand ^liller 
for not letting him kiuiw that the main river 
was on the north side (if \'andruff's Island. 
Miller cursed him lo his tace at the head of 
his troo])s for refusing his services as a guide 
when offere(l the night before, and also cen- 
sured him f(ir iidt gi\ing information which 
had lieen offered him, which inclines me to 
the belief that both Generals Gaines and 
Duncan knew that the Indians had departed. 
As witnesses to this treaty we find the 
names of twd Itdck Island settlers, .Jdseph 
Danfdrth and I'eiijaniin l'\ Pike. 

TUIO UL.VCK UAWIv W.Mi. 

Black Hawk with his band ikiw removed to 
Iowa near the mouth (if the Des Moines 
River, at the site of the abandoned Fort Mad- 
ison. Neajidiie, secdiid in command, took a 
trip to Maiden, Canada, and updii his rettirn 
in the fall of is:-fl, told Black Hawk that he 
would receive assistance from the British. 

Tlie Prophet, whdse \dllage on Rock River 
was where Prophetstown, Illinois, now is, 
and who had great influence over Black 
Hawk, also sent word that the Ottawas, 
Chippewas. Pottawatomies ami Winnebagoes 
would be with him and would render aid. 
Black Hawk after receiving these messages 
said: "We are to be happy once more." 
Black Hawk now directed all his efforts to 
getting together his warriors in anticipation 
of his march to his old village and its occupa- 
tion, and prepared for an attack by the Amer- 
icans should they again undertake to drive 
him away. The army through spies was 
kept informed of Black Hawk's actions, and 
early in April, Keokuk sent to Fort Arm- 
strong a warning that Black Hawk was about 
to commence his march to reoccujn' his old 
village. 



40 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Again messengers were sent out from Fort 
Armstrong to warn the settlers of their dan- 
ger and advising them to seek shelter at once, 
either at Fort Armstrong or in the stockade 
whieh had been erected ai'ound the trading 
store of Davenport and Farnham. The 
most daring and persevering of these messen- 
gers was Judge John W. Spencer. On foot 
he traveled as far as Dixon, going from cabin 
to cabin sounding the alarm and ad^'ising the 
settlers to seek protection. We cannot realize 
today the wild excitement and dread despair 
the news of an Indian uiirisiiii;- caused among 
our ])ionccr settlers. Few if any had horses 
to use in carrying their families and goods. 
0.\en were the beasts of luu'dcn and the 
settlers were obliged to take what little they 
could and cany it on their persons. John 
Wakefield, in liis history of the Black Hawk 
War written in 1834, gives an amusing sketch, 
of the excitement attendant upon the news 
of the expected Indian attack. He. says: 
"hi the eastern part of the state the people 
were as nuich alarmed as in the northwest. 
Din-ing one of the many false alarms that 
'The Indians are coming' a family was living 
near the Iroquois River that had no horses 
liut a lai'ge family of small cliildren. The 
father and nmther each took a child and the 
rest were directed to follow on foot as fast as 
possible. The eldest daughter also carried 
(me of the children that was not able to keep 
up. They fled to the river where they had 
to cross. The father had to carry over all the 
ciiildren at different times as the stream was 
high and so rapid the motlier and daughter 
conld not stem the current with such a hiu-- 
deii. When they all. as they thought, had 
got ox'cr they started when the cry of poor 
little Susan was heard on the opposite bank 
asking if they were not going to take her 
with them. The frightened father again 
pr(>pared to plunge into the strong current 
for his child, when the mother, seeing it, 
cried out; 'Never mind Susan! We have 
succeeded in getting ten over which is more 



than we e.xpected at first and we can better 
spare Susan than you, my dear.' So poor 
Susan, who was only about four years old, 
was left to the mercy of the frightful sav- 
ages." But little Susan came off unhurt, as 
one of the neighbors who was out hunting 
came along and took charge of her. 

THE TURKEY SC.\RE. 

All the settlers in this vicinity had come to 
Fort Armstrong and taken quarters there or 
in the stockade, both of which were over- 
crowded. After the first scare, the settlers 
wanted to go back to their farms and do 
their spring ])lanting. Captain Bliss, who 
commanded at the fort, yielded to their re- 
quest, and arranged with them a signal of 
alarm in case they or any of them should be 
attacked, or were in iinminent danger of an 
attack, which signal was that they should 
"fire off a gun." When such gun was fired, 
every one should flee to tlie Island, .\pril 
7, Joshiui Vandriiff and Hacklev Samnis, 
while crossing Vandruff Island, saw a flock 
of wild turkeys. They could not resist the 
temptation and, creeping within range, fired 
their guns at the flock, eacli man bringing 
down his bird. The noise of the two guns 
could be heard all over the settlement and it 
caused the greatest excitement, filling the 
hearts of the settlers with terror. Mothers 
caught their children and fled towards the 
fort. Those who had horses and were plow- 
ing, hastily, unhitched the animals, loaded 
their families upon the horses and started to- 
wards the fort. It is said some of the settlers 
lied ]iell-inell, leaving their families to take 
care of themselves. Vandruff and Samms 
soon realized the mistake, especially Joshua, 
when he encountered his wife and their ten 
children, running towards the fort. When 
the settlers reached the Mississippi they 
crowded the few skiffs tied to the shore and 
some came near being drowned. Captain 
Bliss had heard the gun-shots and hastily 
called together a company of his regulars and 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



41 



started to meet the Indians, while (':i])tain Phil 
Kearney, who was left in command of the 
fort, began preparing it for a siege. Bliss and 
his men got nearly to R.ock Kivei' wlicn they 
met Vandruff and Samms running after the 
fleeing settlers trying to ex]>lain the mistake. 
When these two told the cai-itain "how it 
happened," it is said the air became impreg- 
nated with sulphur, so loud and vehemently 
did that warrior swear. For many years after- 
wards, the "turkey scare" was a tender spot 
with Vandr\iff and Samms. 

BL.\CK H.\WK STARTS. 

The 6th of April, ls:!2. Black Hawk, with 
about 1,000 Indians, including warriors, 
women, old men and children, together with all 
their possessions, crossed the Mississippi at 
Yellow Banks (Oquawka) and leisurely ]iro- 
ceeded up the east bank of the river to Rock 
River and thence u]) that river opposite to 
his old village where he camiied the night of 
April 12. The next morning he started for 
the Prophet's village with the intention, as 
he said. " to make corn." There is and always 
has been a question whether Black Hawk, 
when he crossed the Mississippi River and 
invaded Illinois in ls;32, intended attacking 
the Americans, or merely again occupying 
his village with the intention of resisting 
forcible removal, or whether he intended 
going to the Prophet's village merely to raise 
a crop. If he wanted merely to raise a crop, 
he could have done that as easily at the mouth 
of the Des Moines River as at Prophets! own. 
From Blac^k Hawk's biogra])hv we learn that 
the trip to Prophetstown was ])art of his |ilan 
to again get control of the site of his aiu'ient 
village and his cornfields. He tells us that 
while at the Des Moines "I concluded that I 
had better keep my band together, and re- 
cruit as many more as possible, so that I 
would be prepared to make the attempt to 
rescue my village in the spring." He then, 
as he says, "tried to recruit braves from 
Keokuk's band," and "requested my people 



to rendezA-ous at that place, and sent out sol- 
diers to bring in the warriors, and stationed 
my sentinels in a position to prevent any from 
moving up until all were ready." 

The taking with him his women, children 
and old men would indicate that he did not 
tin that trip contemplate war, as no Indian 
war party ever carries with it the women or 
children. Black Hawk imdoubtedly intended 
taking his women and children to the Pro- 
phet's village, there to leave them to make 
a crop, and during the summer continue his 
recruiting and possibly in the fall occupy 
his village. For had he intended going to war 
at once he would have stopped at his village 
and there made his defense. 

At Yellowbanks the Prophet met Black 
Hawk, and made a talk to his braves, telling 
them "tliat as long as they were ])eacea,!)le, 
the Americans would not dare molest them. 
That we were not yet ready to act othei'wise. 
We must wait until we ascend Rock River 
and receive oiu- reinfoi cements and we will 
then be able to withstand an army." 

GENERAL ATKINSON ('f)MES TO FORT ARM- 
STRONG. 

On .lune 31, 1831, a war i)arty of nearly 
100 Sacs and F(jxes had attacked a camp of 
Menominees situated about one half a mile 
about Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien and 
killed twenty-five. Black Hawk says the 
killed were Sioux and Menominees. Be- 
tween the former and the Sacs and Foxes 
there had always been a bitter and hostile 
feeling. April 1, 1832, General Henry Atkin- 
son, then commanding Jefferson Barracks at 
St. Louis, received orders to proceed up the 
Mississippi .and demand from the Sacs and 
Foxes the principals engaged in the murder 
of the Menom-inees. Atkinson left St. Bonis 
April 8, with six companies of the Sixth Regi- 
ment, 220 men accompanying the expedition. 
Albert Sidney Johnson, afterwards a Confed- 
erate general, was a second lieutenant in this 
connnand. 



42 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



April 10, Atkinson's army reached the Des 
Moines Rapids, where they were informed 
that Black Hawk and his warriors were 
marching up tiie river. The army now has- 
tened to Fort Armstrong, arriving there the 
night of the I2th. The 13th, General Atkin- 
son called the Indians then in that vicinity to 
the fort. Among those who came were Keo- 
kuk and Wapello. Atkinson demanded the 
murderers of the Menominees and these two 
disclaimed any part in that affair. General 
.Atkinson then started for Fort Crawford and 
also sent out messengers to warn the settlers 
of Black Hawk's coming. On the 19th of the 
month. General Atkinison returned to Fort 
Armstrong. Accompanying him was ]Aen- 
tenant Colonel Zachary Taylor, afterward-s 
President of the United States, and two com- 
panies of the First Infantry. Before leaving 
Fort Armstrong, General Atkinson had sent 
a letter to Governor Reynolds asking for state 
aid. 

.^fter Black Hawk passed his old village. 
General Atkinson sent ('ai>tain Phil Kearney 
up Rock River after him, with orders for 
Black Hawk to return and recross the Miss- 
issippi, which order Black Hawk refused to 
obey, claiming his mission was a peaceful one. 

The news that Black Hawk and his war- 
riors were again marching u]) Rock River 
alarmed the whole northern frontier and the 
Governor daily received messages asking pro- 
tection. George Davenport, the Indian tra- 
der on Rock Island, had before General 
Gaines' arrival written him: "From every 
information 1 have received, I am of the 
opinion that ihf intention of the ]5ritish band 
of Sac Indians is to commit depredations on 
the inhabitants of the frontier." 

THE GOVEUNOR's PROf'LA STATION. 

April 16, Governor Reynolds received 
General Atkinson's letter, asking the assist- 
ance of the state militia. Promptly on the 
same day the Governor issued the "following 
proclamation: 



"to the militia of the northwestern 
section of the state. 

"Fellow Citizens: 

"Your country requires your services. 
The Indians have assumed a hostile attitude 
and have invaded the state in violation of the 
treaty of last summer. The British band of 
Sacs and other hostile Indians, headed by 
Black Hawk, are in possession of the Rock 
Ri-\-er country to the great terror of the fron- 
tier inhabitants. I consider the settlers on 
the frontier to be in imminent danger. I am 
in possession of the above information from 
gentlemen of respectable standing, and also 
from General Atkinson, whose character 
stands high with all classes. In possession of 
the above facts and information, I have not 
hesitated as to the coiu'se I should pursue. 
No citizen ought to remain inactive when 
his country is invaded, and the helpless part 
of the communit}' are in danger. I have 
called out a strong detachment of militia to 
rendezvous at Beardstown on the 22d inst. 
Provisions for the men and food for the horses 
will be furnished in abundance. 

I hope my cotmtrymen will realize my ex- 
]iectations and offer their services, as hereto- 
fore, with promptitude and cheerfulness, in 
defence of their country." 

The season was wet and backward, and 
the farmers had been delayed in their work 
but, as in the year 1831, volunteers were 
eager and willing to offer their services, many 
of the most influential men in the state en- 
listing and many who neither had horses or 
could procure them, marching on foot. 

April 27, the militia left Rushville and 
marched to Yellow Banks (Oquawka) from 
whence they marched up the Mississippi to 
the mouth of Rock River which they reached 
May 7. General Atkinson mustered the 
troops into the service of the United States, 
and May 9 they commenced their march up 
Rock River. Before marching Governor Rey- 
nolds engaged the services of Thomas Kinney, 
a Rock Island settler as a guide, Mr. Kinney 



HISTORIC RO C K ISLAND COU N T Y 



43 



beins; able to understand a little of the Sac 
language. In the march uj) the ri\'er, Gen- 
eral White^^ide with the Illinois \'(ilunTeers 
marched on the east side. While (Jeneral 
Atkinson, with four lumdretl reg\ilars came, 
Sf)nie on the west side and some in boats with 
the sup])lies. With Atkinson was ('nhmel 
Zacharv Taylor. 

A liclCK ISLAND COMP.WV. 

It seems the martini s])irit of I lie citiz<'ns 
of Riiek Island Coiuity was n(it stilleil or 
satisfied by the marcli <if the Hock Rix'er 
Rangers in 1SI51 from h'ort .Armstrong to the 
Sac village, for in 1S3'2 we lind one company 
enrolled in the ser^'ice where e\'ery member 
save one was from Rock Ishmd Count v, th:it 
one lieing a bi'oiher of llie captain, and he 
came fr<im .Xdams County to enlist under his 
brother. Tlu> following is from I he I'olls as 
corrected and now on hie in the \\ ai' Depart- 
ment at Washington. 

They all resided in Roek Island Count\', 
with the exee])tion of Thomas Kennev, who 
was from Adams County. 

Captain, John W. Kenney, enrolled May 'JO, 
1S32; First Lieutenant, .biseph l)anf<irth. en- 
rolled i\Iay 20: Privates, Thomas Davis, en- 
rolled May 20; Manly Danforth, enrolled .July 
1; Samuel Danforth, enrolled May 20: Sam- 
uel Kenn(-y, em'olled May 20, on furlough: 
Thomas Kenney, enrolled June 12: (lentry 
McGee, enrolled May 20; Henry McNeal. en- 
rolled May 20; Neel McNeal, enrolled July 1: 
James Maskal, enrolled May 20; Martin Smith, 
enrolled May 20; William H. Samms, en- 
rolled July 1; Joel Thc>mpson, enrolled i\I:iy 
20; William Thompson, enrolled May 20; lr:i 
Wells, enrolled May 20; Eri Wells, enrolh'd 
May 20; Asaph Wells, enrolled May 20; Xel- 
•son Wells, enrolled May 20; Rannah Wells 
enrolled May 20; Jeol Wells, Jr., enrolled May 
20; Joel Wells, Sr., enrolled May 20; L\d<c 
Wells, Sr., enrolled May 20. 

After being received into the I'nited States 
service at Fort Armstrong, this comjKuiy was 



assigned to Colonel Moore's regiment and 
nuu-clied up Rock Hiver to Dixon, where it 
was assigned to an odd mounted battalion, 
couunanded l)y Major Sanuiel Hogart, and 
was t)rilered to do guard duty on tlu- frontier. 
It was must( red out Septembia' -1, \S'A2, at 
Maconilj. 

The companies composing this odd bat- 
talion were: Captains Peter Butter's of War- 
I'cn County. ,Iohn W. Kenuey's of Hock Islaiul 
Coimtv. James White of Hancock C'ounty, 
,Iohn Sain's of Fulton Count}'. William Me- 
Murty's of Kiuix County and Asel F. Hall's 
of Fulton County. It is impossible to learn 
just what duty the battalion did to which 
the Pjock Island comiiany was assigned. 
lieyiii>lds in "My ( )wn Times" says: "On 
the 12th of .lune 1 oi'dei'ed a battalion to be 
oi'ganized and to select their officers, to guard 
the frontiers bclwceii the Mississij)pi and 
l'eoi-ia on the north of Illinois River. Sam- 
uel Hogart was elected major of the battalion," 

l''rom another authority. I learn th.'it the 
company diil gu.ard duty on the frontier, 
drew its lalions dail\', ate lie.artily, played 
euchre and rcccixcd the r<'niunerat i\'e sum 
of 86 cents pei- d,a\- to]- each man ;ind his 
horse. Sauuiel Hogart, the nuijor of the odd 
battalion to which Kenney's company was 
attached, was before enlistment a merchant 
in McDouough County. 

OTHKK ROCK ISLAND S(.»LDI KKS. 

Rock Islanil Co\mty furnisheil more sol- 
diers than those gi\ en in Captain John W. 
Kenney's company, ^'et. I have been .able 
to ti'ace but few owing to the fact that the 
rolls ale by no means complete. A large num- 
ber joined the state militia and were never 
sworn into the United States ser\ice. conse- 
ipienth- no lecord was kept and their names 
will reUKun forever unknown. 1 have fre- 
(piently heard certain of our old citizens 
claim to have been in the Black Hawk War, 
a,nd have made diligent search for their names. 
I give in this sketch only such names as ap- 



44 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



pear on record in the reports of the war de- 
partment. 

All enlistments were from twenty to thirty 
days and a great many enlisted in another 
company on the same day that their term of 
enlistment in one company expired. 

ROSWELL H. SPENCER. 

Roswell H. Spencer was a brother of Judge 
John W. Spencer and was one of the very early 
settlers. He seems to hn\e been an ardent 
patriot, having three enlistments to his credit, 
serving out each enlistment, and upon his 
term of service expiring again enlisting in a 
new company. He enlisted first in Captain 
Thomas Carlin's company which belonged to 
what was known as the spy battalion. He 
was enrolled May 10 at Rock Island, and 
mustered out May 27 at the mouth of the Fox 
River. He again enlisted May 27, 1S32, in 
Captain A. W. Snyder's company and was 
mustered out of sei-vice June 21, at Dixon's 
Ferry on Rock River. The same day we find 
him again enlisting in Captain Jacob M. 
Early's company and he was mustered out on 
White Water River on Rock River, July 10, 
1832, by order of Brigadier General Atkinson, 
United States Army. This was one of the 
companies in which Abraham Lincoln served 
as a private. 

JAMES KNETSAR. 

James Knctsar, who for many years lived 
in Moline and who died there in the eighties, 
was a member of Captain David Powell's 
company of mountivl volunteers. He enlisted 
in White County on June 16th, and was 
mustered out- of the service on August 2d at 
Dixon's Ferry (Dixon). The original records 
give his name as "James Netson." but they 
have since been corrected. Mr. Knetsar 
lost his horse, saddle and bridle in the service. 

REDDISH, THE TUNNELS AND KAMES. 

In Captain Thomas Carlin's company, we 
find enrolled with Roswell H. Spencer, John 
Reddish, who enlisted at Rock Island May 



10; Luther Tunnel and William Tunnel, who 
were also enrolled that day. The records 
show that the night of May 22, Luther Tunnel 
lost his horse, account "affright of horses," 
there being a stampede that night. This 
company was part of an odd battalion of 
spies, commanded by Major D. Henry of the 
brigade of mounted volunteers commanded 
by Brigadier General Samuel Whiteside. It 
was mustered out of the service of the United 
States at the mouth of Fox River on the 
Illinois River May 27, 1832, and as the com- 
pany was originally mustered in at Carrolton, 
the men were discharged two himdred and 
thirty miles from the place of their enroll- 
ment. 

John Reddish was also in Captain Samuel 
Smith's company, serving from May 27 to 
Jvme 15. 

Charles Eames, who was sheriff of this 
county from 1837 to 1839, was a member of 
Captain Enoch Duncan's company of mounted 
riflemen, commanded by Colonel H. Dodge. 
He enlisted in company \\ith his brother May 
19, 1832. He was mustered out of the service 
September 14. 

THE WELL.S FAMILY. 

The Wells family seems to have been a 
family of fighters. We find eleven of them 
enrolled in the company of Rock River 
Rangers in 1831, and in 1832 we find eight of 
these enrolled in Captain Kinney's company. 
Lucius Wells and John Wells were with 
Spencer in ('aptain A. ^\'. Snyder's company 
antl were present and participated in the 
batth; of Kellogg's Grove. Samuel Wells 
was also a member of Captain Seth Pratt's 
company of Illinois Volunteer Militia, sta- 
tioned at Fort Armstrong, in the service of 
the United States from April 21 to June 3, 
1832. 

CAPTAIN SETH PRATt's COMPANY. 

I find a company of Illinois Volunteer 
Militia was stationed at Fort Armstrong and 
was in the service of the United States from 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND CO U N T Y 



45 



April 21 to June 3, ISo'J, when it was inustored 
out. This company diil iiai-risoii duly. Tlic 
records say it was (•iiin])()S('il df men tmm 
Rock Island and adjacent counties, hut I 
have been unable to jilace but cmc. hi- beins 
Samuel Wells. The roster nf the ronipany is: 
Captain: Seth Pratt. 

Lieutenants: John M. Crnbtree, Joseph 
I,eister. 

Sergeants: Simjison Stew.'irl, William 15. 
Sisk, Elihu Sparks. Abraham Cral>tree. 

Corporals: James Stoekson. (ieor!j,'e Yates, 
James Keller, James Curry, Thomas I'm-ton. 
Fifer: James Carr. 

Privates: Gordon .\cton. .\allian liradbnry, 
Henry Hrantly, C. Cii-dwcll, Isaac Hmilh, 
Daniel Lirock, Amos Hradlcy, .John Pradshaw, 
John M. Bohvare. Ib'nry Castlebury, Stephen 
L. Cooper, John l)a\is, Samuel Smith, Henry 
Ford. William Foster. Isaac (iulliher, J'arnell 
Hamilton, Harrison Huidy, \\'illiam Hopper, 
Alfred Jackson, Jonathan Leijihton. Nicholas 
Long, James M. Low. Irc(lcll Law I'l'iice, Mar- 
tin Langston, Samuel Wells, l.arkin P>. L;uig- 
ston, .John Tx'tcher, lIem->- Melton, Francis 
McConnell, Frederick .McManicl, .lames New, 
Wm. ('. Uverstreet. John I'ervine, William 
Pointer, Jonathan Kuss, Andrews Smothers, 
Isaac Schmick. 

Benjamin Goliel in his reuiiniscenses speaks 
of joining a com])any and doing guard duty 
at the fort, but I do not find his luimc on the 
roster. 

At the commencement nf hostilities. (!ov- 
ernor Reynolds of Illinois, a]")]iointed (ieorge 
Davenport, the Indian trader on the island. 
one of the C[uarternuisters. his conimissidu 
giving him the rank of ciihuiel, by which title 
he was afterwards known. 

The vohuiteer army after a hard ni:n-cli, 
reached Dixon on the evening of .May IDth, 
ahead of the regulars. Black Hawk and his 
Indians had in the meantime reached the 
Prophet's village and had sent word tn the 
Pottawatomies asking them to meet him in a 
council on Sycamore Creek, (since called 



Stillman's Run.) The Pottawatomies were 
dividt'd. Shaubena, their Viighest chief, fav- 
ored the whites, but J-iig Foot .and Mike (iirty, 
a half-breed, were for war. When White- 
sides arrived at Dixon, he fniuid there ahead of 
him two independent batt .alions, in .all three 
hundred and fort>--one men. The om' was 
commanded by Major Isaiah Stillman, the 
other l;)y Major Davifl Hailey. These com- 
mands objected to joining the m.ain army 
except as rangers, they said llicy had come to 
"fight Indians" and belicx-ed if they were 
alloweil, thev could go out and in a few days 
end the troul)le. .Al'ler iimcli persvtasion, 
(ieneral Whitesiiles allowed Majors Stillman's 
:inil l'>aile\'s baltalions tn go dh a scouting 
ex|ic<litinn, .and nu the morning of ^lay 1.'5, 
thry set oul. In the afti'i-nooli of thi' 14th, 
they l)itche(l camp about thi'ce miles from 
Sycamore ('n'(k. Illack Hawk with forty of 
his Indians were but thr(>e miles from the 
camp of the whites. Tlii' Inifians were pre- 
paring a dog feast foi' tlic \-isiting Pottawat- 
omies. Le.ariung th.a.t a body of white sol- 
diers were making camp, lilack Hawk sent 
three of his young men with a white Hag to 
talk with the whites, and to arrange for a 
co\mcil with White P.e:i\-er (Atkinson). When 
the Indian iiarty was still a mik' away, they 
were iierceived by the \ii|unteers and almost 
the whole camp ruslied oul and captured the 
Indian envoys, and hurried them into camp. 
Black Hawk had sent five other Indians to 
follow those bearinsi' a while Hag, to watch 
and see how the others were reccdved. When 
the whites jjerceived the second party, about 
twenty of the mounted xdlmileers started in 
pursuit and killed two of the Indians, the 
other three escajied and returned to where 
lihu'k Hawk and his thirty-five braves were 
in camji. When Hhick Hawk heard of liow 
his flag bearers had been treated he pre]iared 
his braves to meet the whites, who were now- 
all in hot pursuit. The Indians with.drew 
behind a fringe of bushes and when the vol- 
unteers came within close range the Indians 



46 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND CO .(7"V T Y 



fired a volley. The volunteers fled, pursued 
by part of the Indiau.s. Niftht fall ended the 
chase. Stillman's and Bailey '.s brigade kept 
up the flight luitil they reached l)i.\on, twen- 
tv-five miles away. .Many of them never 
went to Dixon, but started for their own 
homes. The report went out that the whites 
had been defeated by Black Hawk and about 
two thousand warriors. The number of 
whites killed was eleven. While the number 
of Indians was three. One of the latter being 
one of the flag bearers, the two others being 
of the party of fwc that had followed the flag 
bearers. 

It has been said lh:it Stilhnan's and Bailey's 
men were under the influence of licjuor, that 
they had taken with them several barrels of 
whiskey, and they were indulging freely in 
drink just before the Indian flag bearers ap- 
peared on the scene. 

The firing on the flag of truce was, to say 
the least, dishonorable treatment. Had the 
whites received the truce bearers in the proji- 
er manner, there is no doubt that such ar- 
rangements would have been made that 
hostilities would never have commenced, and 
Black Hawk and his Indians would have 
returned to the west b.nnk of the Mississippi. 
Black Hawk and his hand were almost 
destitute of provisions and ammunition, and 
their captiu'e of Stillman's stores, highly 
elated them. Black Hawk now sent his 
women and children by way of the Kishwau- 
kee to the swamps of Lake Koshkonbng near 
the headwaters of Rock River. The Winne- 
bagoes acting as guides. Here his |-)arty 
was recruited by W'innebagoes and Potta- 
watomies. 

On the day of Stillman's flefeat. General 
Whiteside with fovu'teen liundrcd men pro- 
ceeded to the scene of battle and buri(Ml the 
dead. The State of Illinois has at Stillman 
Valley, erected a monununit in Imnor of those 
killed in this engagement. On the 19th, 
General Atkinson and the entire army moved 
up the Rock River, leaving Stillman and 



Bailey, and their brigades at Di.xon. Atkin- 
son soon however, returned to Dixon leaving 
General Whiteside with his volunteers to 
follow Black Hawk's trail. The volunteers 
now began to object to going farther, claim- 
ing that they were not com])elled to serve in 
Michigan territory. They also claimed to 
having enlisted for one month, and that their 
time of enlistments had expired. After sev- 
eral days the officers determined to abandon 
their search for Black Hawk and they turned 
aliout and marched south to Ottawa, where 
on the 271 h and 28th days of May, they were 
nuistered out of the service. 

On the 22(1 day of May, a party of thirty 
I'dttawatomies and three Sacs, under Girty 
killed fifteen men, w-omen and children at the 
D.avis farm on Indian Creek, twelve miles 
north of Ottawa. Sylvia and Rachel, two 
daughters of William Hall, were taken cap- 
tive and carried by the Indians to their camp 
on Lake Koshkonong. Afterwards, White 
('row, a Winnebago chief, who had been sent 
to their rescue by Henry Gratiot, agent for 
the Winnebagoes, succeeded in purchasing 
them and delivered the girls to their relatives. 
At the time of the mustering out at Ottawa, 
Governor Reynolds called for at least two 
thousand men to serve during the war, and 
General Winfield Scott started from Fortress 
Monroe on the sea board with one thousand 
regulars. In- the meantime three hundred 
mounted volunteers vmder Colonels Frye and 
Henry agreed to remain in the field to jjro- 
tect the frontier. Abraham Lincoln was 
among this niunber. He, having re-enlisted 
May 27, as a private. Black Hawk now- 
divided his people into several parties and 
nuide forays against the whites. 

On June 14th, a party of eleven Sacs killed 
five white men at Spafford farm on the Peck- 
atonica Ki\('r. Colonel Dodge with twenty- 
nine men followed them aftd the next day 
killed eleven, although he had three killed 
luid one wo\mded in his own party. 

On .hme 24th, Black Hawk in conuuaiid of 



HISTORIC li C K ISLAND COUNTY 



47 



a party of braves made an attack nii Apple 
River Fort, fourteen miles east of (ialena. 
After an liour's siege, the Imlians afirr de- 
stroying the neighborimj; cabins, wit liilrew. 

On June 25th, the same ))arty attacked 
Major Dements' spy battalion, a hundred and 
fifty strong, at Kellogg's (ii-o\'e. (Icneral 
Posey arrived in time with a dctachnirni of 
volunteers for their relief. The Indians lost 
fifteen. The whites' loss was live. Skii'- 
niishes were had at Pluni l\i\('i- boit . I'uir 
Oak Grove, Snisiniwa .Monml. and l'>lne 
Mounds. 

On .J\me 15th, the new troops met at I'^ort 
W'illnirn at Peril, their ai;gregale sti-englh 
was about tliree thousand and twenty men. 
making the entire army in the Held ahoiii 
four thousand effective men. Tlic ai'iiiy now 
uni.ler General Atkinson, m.arched u]i the 
east bank of l^ock l\i\ci'. While ('i-o\\ 
offered to conduct our army to lUack Hawk's 
camp, and that wilj' savage ke]it the whites 
on a goose chase for several days li-yiiig to 
entrap them. Black Hawk in the meanlinie, 
had started westward to the Wisconsin lti\-er, 
and on the evening of July '21st. the Indians 
were overtaken on the blutfs of the Wisconsin 
where a decisive battle was fought in which 
General Henry commanded the Amci'ican 
forces. This army charged the mciiiy and 
drove them fr<.im ]iosition after position with 
great loss, until sundown. This was the lirst 
important victory of the whites in this cam- 
paign. In the morning it was learned that 
the Indians were heading towards the Miss- 
issippi River and had left one hundi-ed and 
sixty-eight dead on the field. I \M'nty-fi\'e 
more being found next day along the trail. 
General Henry having lost but one man killed, 
and eight wounded. 

On the morning of August 2d, the army 
reached the bluffs of the Mississippi. The 
Indians had reached the ri\-er and were mak- 
ing active preparations to cross. .\t this 
time, Captain Throckmorton commanding 
the steamer Warrior, arrived at tlie spot. 



The Indians displayed a white flag. Throck- 
morton conuiianded them to come on bo:inl. 
Thev replieil that the\' could not. because 
thev had no boats. I'pon ihis Throckmorton 
final his six-])onnder camion loaih'd with 
canister into the Indians, killing t wenly-thi'ee 
women and children. Genei'al .\tkinson now 
came upon the scene, and at the mouth of the 
Had .\xe, attacked the Indian encampment. 
The Indians were c<nnplelely routed, suffering 
a loss of one liimdreil and \\\'\\- killecl, besides 
many drowneil in tlieii' atiempl to ca'oss the 
river. The American loss was but se\-enteen. 
General Atkinson with tln' i-aptun^l Indians, 
and about fifty women and children, went to 
Prairie cbi Cliien. There on August 7th. 
(iener.al Scntt with nini' cinnpani<'s of infantry 
from Fortress Moiii'oe. aiai\ed and assumed 
command. The \olunIeers imw retiu'ned to 
l)ixiui and were discliarged, on I lie 17th day 
of .VugMst. Plack Hawk, who had started 
back, was captured by some treacherous 
W'innebagoes and on the 27tli i\-av of ,\iigust 
was deli\ereil a capli\'e to the whiles at 
Prairie du Chien. He w;is kept that winter 
at Jefferson Barracks and in ,A|iril, 1S33, was 
sent as a jirisoner to I'^orti'ess Monroe where 
he was confined until .lim<' 4. when he was 
discharged, .\fter visiting the ]irincipal cities 
in the east, he returned west, locating on a 
small reser\ation on the Des Moines River 
in Davis County, Iowa, where he died (.)ctol)er 
3. 183s. The following \'eai- his remains 
were stolen, and in the spi'ing ol' I sill Govern- 
or IjUcas succeeded in recovering them ;md 
caused the skeleton to lie deli\'ered at the 
then capitol at J-lurlinglon. When the capi- 
tol was removed to Iowa City, the remains 
were taken there. .January 16, 1855, they 
were destroj'cd by fire. 

The final treaty was concluded September 
21, 1S32. The treaty says: "Concluded at 
I'\irt Armstrong." but in consequence of 
cholera then raging at the fort, the treaty was 
held on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi 
now the State of Iowa. 



48 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Among the witnesses to this treaty were 
Antoine LeClaire, interpreter, Benjamin F. 
Pike, John W. Spencer and George Davenport, 
assistant quarter master genera! Illinois 
Militia. 

Governor Reynolds in referring to this 
final engagement says: "Although the war- 
riors fought with the coiu-age and valor of 
desperation, yet the conflict resembled more 
a carnage than a regular battle." Another 
noted authority calls it "a dishonorable 
chapter in the history of the borders." Out 
of the band of nearly one thousand Indians 
men, women and children who crossed the 
Mississippi at Yellow Banks in April, not 
more than one hundred and fifty lived to tell 
the story. The American loss in this war was 
about two htmdred and fifty. The financial 
cost to the government and the State of Illi- 
nois was nearly .?2.()()0.0()(). 

ROCK ISLAND SETTLERS IN 1832. 

The following is a list of settlers of this 
county, as complete as I have been able to 
make from the data that I have found, in the 
spring of 1S32. Just previous to tbe break- 
ing out of the war in 1832, there was quite an 
increase of settlers, many of whom left. 
Some stayed during the war and then left 
and I have not been able to le:u-n their names. 
Aubury. Griflith Kinney, Samuel 

Allen, Archibald Kinney, Thomas 

Bain, John L. Kent, Erastus 

Barrel, John Lovitt, Thomas 

Bartlett, Michael McCoy, Joseph 

Burner, Edward McNeil, Henry 

Brasher, William T. Miller, George V. 
Benson, Henry McGee, Gentry 

Been, Joseph McNeil, Neel 

Bryant, Leonard Maskal, James 

Case, Jonah H. Noble, Ames C. 

Case, Louden, Sr. Fence, Judge 

Case, Loudert, Jr. I^ike, Benjamin 

Case, Charles H. Reddish, John 

Cook, Horace Syms, Thomas 

Clark, B. W. Syms, Robert 



Corbin, Edward 
Carr, William 
Culver, Martin 
Danforth, Manly 
Danforth, Joseph 
Davis, Thomas 
Dance, Russel 
Davenport, George 
Davidson, Thomas 
Frith, Isaiah 
French, Charles 
Farnham, Russel 
Gardiner, Thomas 
Goble, Benjamin 
Gouquy. Antoine 
Graft, John 
Haskill, James 
Harlan, George W. 
Hultz, Uriah S. 
Hubbard, Thomas 
Hubbard, Goodridge 
Henderson, Cyrus 
Hail, David B. 
Henry, William 
Heans, William 
Hulls, M. S. 

Haney, 

Johnson, Moses 
Kinney, John W. 



Sams, William F. 
Smith, Martin W. 
Stringfield, Sevier 
Smart, Josiah 
Sampson, H. 
Spencer, John W. 
Spencer, Roswell H. 
Thompson, William 
Thompson, Joel 
Tannell, Luther 
Tunnell, William 
Vandruff, Joshua 
Vandruff, Henry 
A'andruff, Samuel 
Vanetta, Benjamin 
Vanetta, Gorham 
Vomer, Edward 
Wells, Levi 
Wells, George 
Wells, Joel, Sr. 
Wells, Joel. Jr. 
Wells, Huntington 
Wells, John 
W^ells, Samuel 
Wells, Rinn.ah 
Wells, Asaph 
Wells, Eri 
Wells, Ira 
Wells, Nelson 



Wells, Lucius 
The Kinneys above mentioned are the same 
whose names in the roster of the war depart- 
ment are given as Kenney. 

INCIDENTS CONCERNING FORT ARMSTRONG. 

About the time the fort was completed the 
Indians began crossing to the island and 
would watch the soldiers in its construction. 
They would often sing and go through some of 
their dances to amuse the soldiers, and the 
latter began to think that the Indians were 
peaceful. The Hon. Bailey Davenport de- 
scribed an incident during this time that 
shows that the Indians had not become 
reconciled to the erecting of the fort. He 
said: "One day a small party came over to 



HISTORIC R C K ISLAND COUNT Y 



49 



dance, and aftei' the dance the cohmel in 
command gave them presents. In a few day.s 
after, and while a large number of soldiers 
were out cutting timber, a large party of 
warriors, headed by the Ne-ka-!e-quat, eame 
over in canoes and landed on the north side 
of the island, and danced up to the entrance 
of the encampment, and wanted to enter 
and dance in front of the commander's tent. 
About the same time a large party of warriors 
was discovered approaching over the ridge 
from the south side of the island, headed by 
Keokuk. The colonel immediately oidered 
the bugle sounded to recall the soldiers from 
the woods, and had all under arms (about 
six hundred) and the cannon run out in 
front of the entrance, ready to fire. The 
Indians were ordered not to ajiproach any 
nearer. The colonel, taking the alarm lie- 
fore Keokuk's party got near enough to rush 
in, saved the encampment from surprise and 
massacre." 

THE POWDf:R I'LOT. 

Be it truth or fiction there is connected 
with the history of Fort Armstrong an inci- 
dent that to my mind possesses more reasons 
in favor of its being fact than fiction. 

After the Black Hawk War, some soldiers 
happening to enter the cave in "Rock Island 
Arsenal," found three kegs of powder each 
attached to a fuse. No one seemed to know 
how the.se things had come there, but after 
the war some Indians had said that Black 
Hawk when he marched up Rock River in 
April, 1832, stopped overnight at his old 
village, and during the night of ."^pril 12 he, 
with over two hundred braves, had gone to 
the island, crossing at the ford between Rock 
Island and Moline, remaining there nearly 
all night. It was said his intention was to 
see if he could not capture the fort. Black 
Hawk, in his autobiography, does not mention 
this incident, the reason being that his at- 
tempt to blow up the fort proved a failure. 
It is a fact that Black Hawk was on the island 
that night. Benjamin F. Pike, the captain 



of the Rock River Rangers in 1831, and 
afterwards sheriff to this county, together 
with two companions, had been selected to 
do jiicket and scout duty that night. They 
took their place ne.ar the ford, and some time 
near midnight saw Black Hawk and his 
braves cross the slough to the island. They 
at once ran to the fort and to the stockade 
and gave the warning. 

The garrison at this time was commanded 
, by Captain Bliss who hiid with him only two 
companies of infantry, partly full, not over 
eighty men. The stockade around Colonel 
Davenport's store was filled with settlers 
and their families and was crowded to its ut- 
most capacity. By an oversight the only 
well on the premises had not been enclosed 
in the stockade. Dreading fire from the 
Indians' fire arrows, every bucket, tub and 
barrel was hastily filled with water and the 
anxious settlers momentarily awaited the 
attack. An old swivel had been brought up 
from the fort and this was loaded to the brim 
and placed in front of the gate, where Ser- 
geant Hanchett of the garrison, with a smol- 
dering fire by his side, stood ready to fire it 
off at the first approach of the enemy. The 
night was one of terror to the settlers; a 
drifting rain and pelting hail storm had set in, 
and the occasional claps of thunder and 
flashes of lightning but added new alarm to 
the already frightened women and children. 
At about 2 o'clock in the morning the firing 
of cannon was heard from the direction of 
the fort and those in the stockade believed 
the attack had commenced, but they were 
soon apprized that the firing was from the 
cannon on board the steamer Chieftain, which 
brought General Atkinson .and his regulars 
from St. Louis. 

It is said that when the people at the stock- 
ade heard the firing of cannon and the shouts 
of the garrison welcoming the reinforcement, 
they believed it the shouts of triumph of the 
Indians at the capture of the fort, and Elder 
Kinney of Rapids City, a devout Presbyterian 



50 



IlIsrORlC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



advised them all to "unite in an appeal to 
God as their only hope of safety:" whereupon 
Antoine Gouquy, Cohmcl Davenport's French 
ser\-ant, said, "Ze prayer he l)e sjood for ze 
vimniin an ze childer. lint he be not wort one 
cent to fight ze Injhis. Wattair, he be bet- 
tair zan ze prayer." 

Black Hawk had been with the British so 
much that he well knew the use of gunpowder. 
He was in the attack on the fort at Detroit 
and undoubtedly believed he could with a 
few kegs of powder blow up the fort at its 
gate and the rock embankment upon which 
it stood, and then with his braves rush in on 
the weak garrison. The 8ac chief knew also 
that the fort was but weakly garrisoned. 
The Prophet had several times attempted to 
enter its gate, bul had been kept out on the 
orders of Major Bliss, who suspected treachery. 
The last attempt of the Prophet to enter the 
fort was but a few days before Black Hawk's 
attempt to capture it. 

THE BURNING OF THE FORT. 

For thirty-nine years the fort stood as first 
con.structed, and though evac\uited and no 
longer the abode of the soldier since 1836, 
it was used as a Governmeiit warehouse and 
was a picturesque sight, being an object of 
interest to all travelers up and down the 
river as well as to visitors to this locality. 

On Sunday afternoon, October 7, 1855, 
some vandal set fire to the historic buildings. 
J. B. Danforth, Jr., agent of the quartermas- 
ters department of the army, in charge at 
that time, in a letter written on the 9th of the 
month to Major D. H. Vinton, qiiartermaster 
United States Army at St. Louis, said, "Sir: 
The barracks and one block fort at this place 
were destroyed l)y fire yesterday (Sunday) 
afternoon. I was in the city at church at the 
time the fire originated. I inunediately 
rallied about a hundred men with buckets, 
and endeavored to quell the flames, but to no 
purpose. We had no fire engine, and it was 
impossible to stay the progress of the con- 



flagration. The buildings were fired by some 
persons to me unknown, and in the following 
manner: About thirty kegs of powder had 
been stored in the magazine by the contract- 
ors for the improvement of the rapids, liy 
permission of the secretary of war. The 
magazine had several times been broken 
open and powder stolen. It was then stored 
in a safe room, or what was believed to be 
safe in the barracks. It had all been taken 
away, except one keg and one or two jiarts 
of kegs. Some persons, while I was at church, 
had broken open a window and ignited a jjart 
of a keg of powder, thus causing the loss of 
the buildings. I have published an adver- 
tisement (at my own expense) to endeavor to 
find out the perpetrators, of the outrage, 
which I hope will meet your approval. I 
send you a copy of my paper, containing the 
advertisement and an editorial notice of the 
fire." 

When the United States government (under 
the act of 1862) commenced the construction 
of Rock Lsland Arsenal in 1863. all that re- 
mained of Fort Armstrong was removed. 
The first building erected stands ne.arly on 
the site of the old fort, and the window frames 
of the basement of this building are made of 
oak obtained from the old fort. 

ROSTER AT THE FORT. 

The officers and troops stationed at Fort 
Armstrong from August, 1S19 (first retvirn 
on file), until abandoned May 4, 1836, were 
as follows: 

Commanding officers: Lieutenant Colonel 
Willoughby Morgan, from 1819; Captain M. 
Marston, from August 1819 to June 1821, of 
Company F, Fifth Infantry; Captain S. Bur- 
bank, from June, 1821 to Jtme, 1823, of Com- 
pany D, Fifth Infantry; Major J. H. Vose, 
from June, 1823 to June 4, 1825, of Companies 
D and F, Fifth Infantry; Captain S. Burbank, 
from June 4, 1825 to May 21, 1826, of Com- 
panies D and F, Fifth Infantry; Major J. H. 
Vose, from May 21, 1826 to October 9, 1827. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND C U N T Y 



51 



of Conipaiiies E and H. Fifth Infantry; 
Captain J. Plynipton, from October 9, 1827 
to April 28, 1828, of Companies E and H. 
Fifth Infantry; Major S. Bnrbank, irum Aiiril 
28, 1828 to April :?(l, 1,S28, of Companies E 
and H, Fifth Infantry; Captain J. Green, from 
April 30, 1828 to June, 1828, of Companies C 
and G, Third Infantry; Captain J. S. Nelson, 
from J\me, 1828 to August 13, 1828, of Com- 
panies C and G, Third Infantry; Captain .1. 
Green, from August 13, 1828 to ,Iuly 27, 183(1, 
of Companies C and G, Third Infantry; Cap- 
tain John Bliss, July 27, 1830 to July 26, 1831, 
Companies D and H, Third Infantry; Cap- 



tain T. J. Beall, from July 26, 1831 to Sep- 
tember 2, 1831, of Companies C and K, First 
Infantry; Major ,I(ihn Bliss, from September 
2, 1S31 to May 4, 1S32, of Companies C and 
K, First Infantry: Captain T. J. Beall, from 
May 4, 1832 to October 26, 1832, of Companies 
C and K, First Infantry: Lieutenant A. S. 
Miller, from October 26, 1832 to December 2, 
1832, of Companies C and K, First Infantry; 
Captain T. F. Smith, from December 2, 1832 
to June 8. 1833, of Companies G and K, First 
Infantry: Lieutenant ("olonel W. Davenport, 
from June 8, 1833 to May 4, 1836, of Com- 
panies G and K, First Infantry. 



POLITICAL DIVISIONS 



The fortunes of Rock Island County have 
been those of the State of Illinois. In 1541, 
Ferdinand Y)r Soto discovered the Mississii")pi 
River, crossing it somewhere near Mempliis; 
and upon this discovery rested Spain's claim 
and title to the " far west." The co\mtry now 
known as the State of Illinois is shown on 
the very early Spanish maps as a part of 
Florida. Spain made no attempt, however, 
to plant her settlements in the "Illinois." 

In 1763, at the close of the French and 
Indian Wars, Illinois became British territory, 
and so remained until July 4, 1778, when 
Colonel George Rogers Clark and his Virgin- 
ians captured the British forts and settle- 
ments. In October of that year, Illinois was 
by act of the General Assembly of Virginia 
created the "County of Illinois," and became 
a part of the commonwealth of ^'irginia. 

During the Revolutionary War, Illinois 
and what is now the states of Ohio, Indiana. 
Michigan and Wisconsin, was claimed by each 
of the states of New York, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut and Virginia. In 1785 these 
states surrendered their claim to the General 
Government, and then Congress passed an 



act for the government of this country, which 
was designated "Western Territory." but 
nothing was done towards organizing a form 
of government. On ,Iuly 13, 1787, Congress 
passed the celebrated ordinance known as the 
"Ordinance of 1787," for the government of 
this country, then called the "Northwest 
Territory." In 1788 the first officers were 
appointed. In 1790 the country now Illinois, 
was established as St. Clair County, named 
after General Arthur St. Clair, the first gover- 
nor of the Northwest Territory. 

In this year Illinois County became part of 
Indiana Territory, and in 1809 the country 
west of the Wabash, north of the Ohio and 
east of the Mississippi, was erected into 
Illinois Territory, which was divided into 
two counties — Randolph and St. Clair — the 
territory now Rock Island County forming 
part of St. Clair County. On September 14, 
1812, our county became a part of Madison 
County, and on January 31, 1821, we were 
made a part of Pike County. This was the 
first county erected by the State of Illinois. 

January 28, 1823. Fulton County w.as 
erected from Pike County, and we became a 



52 



f HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



part of the former, and so remained imtil 
Janiiarv 13, 1S25, when we beeame a part of 
Peoria County. On Fel)ruary 17. 1827, Jo 
Daviess County was erected from Peoria 
Coimty, and Galena became our county seat. 
We remained part of Jo Daviess County luitil 
183.3, when Rock Island County was organ- 
ized, with the boundaries as they exist 
today. 

The ordinance of 1787 provided for the 
forming of one or two states out of the terri- 
tory now the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. 
The ordinance provided that the northern 
boundary of the territory now Illinois should 
be an east and west line drawn through the 
southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. 
Had this provision been carried out when 
Illinois was erected into a state in 1S18, that 
part of Rock Island County east of ^loline 
would now be in Wisconsin. 

When the bill to admit Illinois as a state 
was presented to Connress and referred to the 
conmiittee, our northern boundary was as 
defined in the ordinance of 1787, which 
would ha\-e left out of our state the counties 
of Lake, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, Steph- 
enson, Jo Daviess, Carroll, Ogle, DeKalb, 
Kane, De Page, Cook, Lee, Whiteside, and 
also a portion of Kendall, Will, La Salle and 
Rock Island Counties. 

In 1816 the United States made a treaty 
with the Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawat- 
omie Indians and it became necessary to 
establish the point where a line "due west 
from the southern extremity of Lake Michi- 
gan " would strike the Mississippi River. 
Such a line was surveyed by John Sullivan in 
1818, and a monument was erected at its 
terminus, "on the bank of the Mississippi 
River near the head of Rock Island." This 
place is between Seventeenth and Eighteenth 
streets in the City of Moline, and is now 
occupied by the Moline (Jity Waterworks. 

Alexander Pope, the representative from 
Illinois in Congress, was fully alive to the in- 



terests of his constituency. Mr. Pope asked 
to strike out of the bill the description which 
bounded Illinois on the north by a line drawn 
directly west from the southerly boundary 
of Lake Michigan, and insert the following: 
" Beginniiig at the mouth of the Wabash 
River, thence up the same and with the line 
of Indiana to the northwest corner of said 
state; thence east with the line of the same 
state to the middle of Lake Michigan; thence 
north along the middle of said lake to north 
latitude 42 degrees 30 minutes; thence west 
to the middle of the Mississippi River, and 
thence down along the middle of that river 
to its confluence with the Ohio River, and 
thence up the river along its northw^est shore 
to the beginning." This carried. 

The northern boundary of Illinois was thus 
fixed, and was made to include a strip of 
land sixty-one miles nineteen chains and 
thirteen links wide, extending from Lake 
Michigan to the Mississippi River, embracing 
a siu'face of 8,500 sqiuxre miles. The line 
surveyed by Sullivan in 1818 was accepted 
as a true line vmtil 1833, when Captain Talcott, 
while making the survey of the Ohio-Miciii- 
gan boundary, was instructed to ascertain 
the exact point on the Mississifipi River which 
is due west from the southern extremity of 
Lake Michigan. He established this point 
as being "about seven miles north of the fort 
(Armstrong) on Rock Island." 

From 1829 to 1848 the question of adding 
these fourteen northern and a portion of the 
four other Illinois counties to Wisconsin was a 
prominent one in the northern part of the 
state. Strange to say, for many years most 
of the people living in the northern part of 
the state were in favor of being added to 
Wisconsin; but when Wisconsin was admitted 
as a state in 1848 its southern boundary line 
was fixed at the heretofore established north- 
ern boundary of the State of Illinois, and 
thus was forever settled what for man}' years 
was a subject of much dispute, 



n 1 S TORI C R C K J S L A N D CO U N T Y 



53 



ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL 



(Originally named Island of Rock Island) 



COLONEL STANHOPE E, BLUNT 



SuinmiiiK u]) tlu' hi.stdi'v ])ert:iiniiii;' tn the 
liock Island Arsonal. locatotl upim the Island 
of Rook Island, and lying conjointly, one 
miglit sa\'. Ijctwccn the cities of Molinc, llock 
Island and I)aveni)ort, is no light task. In 
tlic data which contributes to tlic construc- 
tion of this history, some of which has heen 
incor]iorated yerbatini. there are numerous 
ilates and incidents which giye rise lo cdn- 
Hieting thoughts and deductions and the 
writer has been com|)elled, in some instances, 
to resort to comparisons upon which to base 
his judgments. 

Since the adyent of Colonel George Dayen- 
port, May 10, 1S16, .several histories of the 
Arsenal have been written, and a number of 
personal memoirs of well known pioneers 
have been printed. Of these latter, tlie 
reminiscences of the late Judge J. W. Spencer 
jirobably afford the most atithentic report, 
and it is to be deplored that he did not pursue 
his work to the end that would dispel all 
doubts as to many transformations and con- 
ditions through which the Arsenal passed 
during the days of the early jiioneers and the 
settlement of Rock Island County. 

Starting at the beginning, the purposes 
and anticipations relative to old Fort Arm- 
strong naturally present themselves; and as 
this celebrated fort was built on the Island of 
Rock Island, acquired througli a treaty with 
the Indians in the year 1S04, it will be proper 
to precede our account of it by a Ijrief de- 
scription of the island itself. Rock Island 
is situated on the Mississippi River, opposite 



the upi)er end of the City of Rock Islaml, 
and between it and ])avenport on the Iowa 
side. It is about two and three quarters 
miles long by three-fourths of a mile wide, 
and contains an area of nearly a thousand 
acres. The base of this island is a mass of 
limestone, of the Hamilton grou|). which 
nnilerlies this section of co\mti'\'. .^t its 
lower extremity this i-ock\- expostu'e 
rises in an almost |ierpendicular wall to a 
consideral)le height above the walcr. and was 
the cause of its f)eing called liy its a|)|)ropriate 
name — Rock Island. 

This mass of light grey or whitish limestone, 
rising in the broad channel of the Mississippi, 
and crowned with its luxuriant covering of 
natural forest trees, was an oliject of great 
interest to the early explorers in this region, 
and its effect was greatly enhanced by com- 
ing in view of it unexpectedly, as the traveler 
was sure to do, in passing the bend in the 
river a short distance Ijelow. After Fort 
Armstrong was built on the lower [.loint of 
this island, the view on ascending the river 
became still more picturesque, and it has been 
described as one of the most romantic and 
beautiful scenes in the whole western coun- 
try. Mr. Henry C. McGrew, who ])ublished 
the first newspaper in Rock Islaii<l, and of 
whom mention is made elsewhere, wrc.ite a 
letter in 1870, in which he said: 

"Although thirty-eight years liave passed 
since I first landed at Rock Island, I shall 
never forget my first impressions of the jjlace. 
It was a beautiful moonlight night in .June; 



64 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



and, as I stood upon the deck of the steamer, 
as we rounded the bend below the village, 
and beheld old Fort Armstrong on the island 
in the river, with its whitewashed walls, 
pretty gardens and officers' houses, the scene 
was charming, presenting the appearance of 
some ancient castle. Then there was the 
village of Davenport on the opposite bank, 
with its white painted cottages, and on the 
east, Rock Island, encircled by the bluffs. 
The panorama inspired me with a feeling of 
happiness I shall never forget; and, coupled 
with the idea that I was on the outskirts of 
civilization, gave the whole scene an air of 
romance." 

Governor Ford, in his History of Illinois, 
speaking of the arrival of the soldiers here dur- 
ing the first Black Hawk disturbance, in 1831, 
says: 

"The volunteers marched to Rock Island 
the next morning, and here they encamped 
for several days, precisely where the town of 
Rock Island is situated. It was then in a 
complete state of nature, a romantic wilder- 
ness. Fort Armstrong was built on a rocky 
cliff at the lower point of an island, near the 
center of the river, a little way above; the 
shores on each side formed of gentle slopes of 
prairie extending back to bluffs of considerable 
height, made it one of the most picturesque 
scenes in the western country. The river here 
is a beautiful sheet of clear, swift-running 
water, about three-quarters of a mile wide. 
Its banks on both sides were inhabited only 
by Indians, from the Lower Rapids to the 
fort; and the voyage up stream, after several 
days progress through a- wilderness country, 
brought the traveler suddenly in' sight of the 
fort, perched upon a rock, surrounded by the 
grandeur of Nature, which, at a distance, 
gave it the appearance of one of those en- 
chanted castles in an uninhabited desert, so 
well described in the Arabian Night's Enter- 
tainments". 

The island was the favorite resort of the 
Indians long before it had ever been visited 



by the white man. "Here they loved to 
assemble for their summer pastimes, and to 
indulge in the simple amusements of their 
race; along these rocky shores was their fa- 
vorite fishing-ground; the swift current which 
here pours down over successive chains of 
rapids, was the scene of many a dash and 
frolic in their light canoes; and here dwelt the 
kindly spirit whose protecting power pre- 
sei-ved the red man, and over whose subter- 
rean abode none dared to walk but with the 
silent step of supreme reverence and awe." 
The estimation in which the Srx and Fox 
Indians held this island is well described by 
Black Hawk in the following language: 

"This was the best island in the Mississippi, 
and had long been the resort of our young 
people during the summer. It was our gar- 
den, which furnished us with strawberries, 
blackberries, plums, apples, and nuts of vari- 
ous kinds, and its waters supplied us with pure 
fish, being situated in the rapids of the river. 
In my early life I spent many happy days on 
this island. A good spirit had care of it, who 
lived in a cave in the rocks immediately under 
the place where the fort now stands, and has 
often been seen by our people. He was 
white, with large wings like a swan's, but ten 
times larger. We were particular not to make 
a noise in that part of the island, for fear of 
disturbing him. But the noise of the fort 
has since driven him away, and no doubt a 
bad spirit has taken his place." 

The events which led to the building of 
Fort Armstrong on Rock Island are elsewhere 
fully described. The British band of Sacs 
and Foxes had been troublesome in this re- 
gion all through the latter part of the War of 
1812-14. The British had captured the fort 
at Prairie du Chien, and had not only pro- 
vided the Indians of this locality with artil- 
lery, munitions of war, and men, but had left 
them at the close of the war with feelings of 
strong and bitter hostility to the Government. 
From Jefferson Barracks, below St. Louis, to 
the mouth of the Wisconsin, the Government 



HISTORIC ROCK I S LAND CO U .V T Y 



55 



had ]iracticany no established niilitarv post 
by which to enforce its authority or fo afford 
protection to its citizens, whose duties luii^ht 
call them into this |iortioii of the I'niteil 
States. The ri\er wa^. nioreo\i'r, a. hinhway 
of the nation, which iiuist be kept fiiia.rded by 
siiitabk' military stations aloiin its banks. 
The situation ;it llock Island was central, 
accessible, and in near iiroximity to the most 
daii.^eroiis li:id\' of Indians on the ri\'ei-; it 
was also nearly centrally located on the west- 
ern liorder of that ,i;reat tract of country 
which these Indians liad cediMl to the I'nited 
States in the treaty of 1804, and which would 
soon be opened for actnal settlement. 

At the time the fort was built, there were 
at least 4,000 Indians li\-in.i; on the main 
shores and ad,iacent to the islaml. .Ml those 
on tlie east side were the wards of the (bi\- 
erniiient. liviiiLr on Government lands, which 
thev were allowed by the terms of the tre.-ily 
to occi'jjv so lonn as these lands helonned to 
the United States. 

BUILDING OF THE FORT. 

In 1S16 Fort Armstrong was Iniilt on the 
low(>r ])oint of Rock Island. The force of 
regnlars under Colonel \\'illiatn Lawrence^ 
who came up the river for the purpose of lo- 
cating and erecting the fort, arrived at the 
mouth <if Piock River and e.xaminecl the coun- 
try for a suitable site. They (lecided on the 
above location. On the 10th of May, 1816, 
they landed on the island, and as soon as they 
had completed their encampment, Colonel 
bawfence employed the soldiers to cut logs 
and build storeliouses for their ])rovisions. 
He also had a bakehouse and o\-en erected, 
which was the first building finished on the 
islaiKl. The erection of the fort and its 
accompanying buildings soon foUoweil, ;nid 
was named Fort Armstrong, in honor of the 
secretary of war. 

It was a substantial structure of hewed 
logs, btult in the form of a square, the sides of 
which were four hundred feet in lentrth. A 



blockhouse was Ijuilt at each of the four 
angles, and embrazures for cannon and loop- 
holes for musketry were ])rovided. A maga- 
zine, store-hotise, barracks, and officers' 
quarters were erected within the enclosure, 
and sections of heavy stone work built for 
protection a.gainst fire. 

Colonel George Davenport came with the 
troops as contractor foi- the Commissary De- 
partment. On the 10th of August, 1816, Mrs. 
Davenport and Mrs. Lewis, aft(>rward Mrs. 
Goldsmith, reached the island. They were 
the first American ladies who ever ascended 
the ri^•er to this jilace. Mrs. Davenport died 
in 1S47. age<l 7'J years. Mrs. Goldsmith, a 
veneralile relic of the post, died in the 76th 
vear of her age. 

In 1S23. the \'irginia. laden with [ndA-isions 
for tlie gtirrison at I'rairie du Chein. touched 
the fort. This is said to ha^•e been the first 
steamboat that landecl on the islaml. In 
1831. the old Fort on tli<' island was the scene 
of a council with the Sac and Fox Indians, 
with a \-iew to ]>ersuading them to retire 
peaceably to the west side of the Mississippi 
River. Abotit thirty chiefs were present. 
This council was held b\ (Icneral Gaines, who 
came from .lefferson Barracks in the steamer 
Fnterprise with a force of regular troops. 
It resulted in con\inciug General Gaines that 
the Indians were determined to fight rather 
than give u]) their possessiims. 

We shall ha^ i- more to say of these matters 
when we C(jine to gi\'e an account of the Black 
Hawk War in 1831 anil '32. During the war, 
Fort Armstrong was the rendezvous for the 
soldiers assembled in this (pLarter. On the 
7th day of August, 1832, five d.ays after the 
battle of Bad Axe, General Winfield Scott ar- 
rived from Fortress Monroe with a force of Uni- 
ted States regulars to assist in putting down 
the Black Hawk disturbance. He was, as we 
know, too late for that, but in season to call 
together the conquered Sacs and Foxes at 
Rock Island, and to conclude a treaty with 
them, on the 21st of September, for the strip 



56 



HISTORIC ROCK I f^L A N D COUNTY 



of land known as the "Black Hawk Pur- 
chase," in Iowa. This treaty vvas not held 
at Fort Armstrong, as was contemplated, 
owing to existence of cholera among the sol- 
diers, which then prevailed, but was held on 
the opposite side of the river, on the grounds 
formerly occupied by the Chicago, Rock Is- 
land & Pacific Depot, and now by the Kimball 
House. At that time, there were about 
1,500 soldiers at the fort. 

Fort Armstrong was evacuated by the 
garrison in 1836, but the island was still held 
as a military reservation by the Government 
under successive agents appointed to take 
charge of it. The first of these was General 
Street, Indian agent at Prairie du Chien, who, 
by order of the Government, established the 
Indian Agency on the island soon after the 
withdrawal of the troops. In the spring of 
1838, the Indian Agency was removed to 
Agency City, Iowa, on the Des Moines River, 
and General Street was succeeded by Colonel 
George Davenport, who had charge' of the 
island until the spring of 1S40. Fort Arm- 
strong was then a depot for arms. Captain 
Shoemaker was placed in charge, and re- 
mained until the spring of 1845, when the 
arms, being required for the Mexican War, 
were shipped to New Orleans, and Captain 
Shoemaker went with the army to Mexico. 
He was succeeded by Thomas Drum, who 
died in 1853, when Sergeant Cunmiings, of 
Fort Crawford (Prairie du Chien), was ap- 
pointed, and on his declination, Colonel J. B. 
Danforth, Jr., was appointed, January 20, 
1854. In 1857, H. Y. Slaymaker, of Daven- 
port, was appointed. In May, 1861, T. J. 
Pickett succeeded Mr. Slaymaker, and held 
the position until the island was again oc- 
cupied for arsenal purposes. 

ROCK ISLAND ARMORY AND ARSENAL. 

The movement for the establishment of a 
Western Arsenal on Rock Island was begun 
as early as 1839, in which year it was made the 
object of a special survey and the subject of a 



report to the War Department by Major Bell, 
of the Ordnance Department, as a feasible 
and desirable location. In 1843 its advan- 
tages for that purpose was reported to Con- 
gress by a commissioner appointed by the 
President, under the provisions of an act of 
Congress approved September 9, 1841. At 
a later date it was also the subject of a recom- 
mendation to the Government for the same 
public use. 

It was not until the summer of 1861 that 
the initial step was taken by the citizens of 
Rock Island looking to the accomplishment 
of this object. On the first day of July, of 
that year, a petition addressed to the senators 
and representatives in Congress was drawn 
up by the following committee of citizens of 
Rock Island, viz: N. B. Buford, J. Wilson 
Drury, Ira O. Wilkinson, Ben Harper, Reu- 
ben Hatch, George Mixter, J. B. Danforth, 
Jr., and P. L. Cable, asking Congress to estab- 
lish a national armory and arsenal on Rock 
Island, and setting forth the special advan- 
tages of the site for such an establishment. 

By the action of these gentlemen another 
committee of leading citizens of the three 
cities — Rock Island, Moline and Davenport — 
was appointed, consisting of the followuig 
named persons: Ira 0. Wilkinson, N. B. Bu- 
ford, H. C. Connelly, J. Wilson Drury and 
Bailey Davenport, of Rock Island; W. H. F. 
Gurley, George L. Davenport, and G. M. 
French of Davenport, and C. .\tkinson and 
P. R. Reed, of Moline. These gentlemen 
memorialized Congress in an ably prepared 
pam])hlet, with a map of this locality, upon 
the claims and advantages of Rock Island as 
the site for th(> proposed Western Arsenal 
and Armory. 

This memorial sets forth that a new Ar- 
mory and Arsenal, for the manufacture, safe- 
keeping and distribution of arms and muni- 
tions of war, are of pressing national necessity 
demanded alike by the present wants and fu- 
ture requirements of the Government , and that 
the preponderating growth of the northwest, 



// / .s' T R I C R C K ISLAND CO U N T Y 



57 



as well as the alisenee of any such estab- 
lishment within its limits, indieate that such 
an armory should be localetl uixni the upper 
Mississippi. Coming directly to the claims of 
Rock Island, the memorialists say: " H(>- 
lie\in,n that Rock Island, in the State of Illi- 
nois, in the centrality and safety of its geo- 
graphical position, the facilities it affortls for 
transportation to and from other ])arts of the 
country, the cheapness and aluiiidauce of its 
inoti\c ]iower and the materials used in the 
nuinufacttu'e of ai-nis, in the supply and 
cheaj)ness of labor and food, in tlic hcalth- 
fulness, spacioiisiicss and gcnci-al diiiiliility 
of the site, and the possession and ow nci'sliip 
thereof by the Government free of cdst or 
ex]:iense — enjoys advantages ('(lual. if not 
superior, to those possessed liy an\- other 
place in the northwest t(ir the jncntidn cif such 
an establishment — your lueiiiorialists would 
respectfully ask yoiu' attention to ;i brief 
notice of these adxantages." The :ul\an- 
tagcs are set forth in the ten or twehc pages 
which follow with great forct' and cogency of 
argument. In this docuinent we lind a re- 
port of the action of the Iowa Legislature and 
of the authorities of Illinois on the subject, 
and a certificate of tlie government agent in 
charge of the Island. 

JOINT RESOLUTIOXS OF THE IOW.\ LKlilSLATURE. 

"Be It Resolved by the Senate and House 
of Representatives of the State of Iowa, 
That the senators in Congress from this State 
be requested to use their utmost exertions 
to jjrocure the establishiniMit , at the earliest 
possible time, by the (ioveniiuenl of tlie 
United States, of an Arsenal and Armory, 
for the distributicui of arms to the stat(>s of 
the iu)rth\vest, on the Island of Rock Island, 
in the State of Illinois. 

"Resolved That the Secretary of State 
be requested to forward to each of tlu' Sena- 
tors and representati\-es in Congress a copy 
of these resolutions." 

'Approved March 24, iMil." 



No session of the legislature of Illinois 
liad been helil immediately prior to this 
action, l)ut 'ioAcrnor Yates and the otlier 
state officers, both civil anil military, ad- 
(h'essed a letter to the Secretary of War, 
urging the location of the Armory upon Rock 
Island. 

certific'.vte from the oovernment agent. 

"I, T. ,1. Pickett, (Jovernment Agent for 
the Island of Rock Island, hereby certify that 
the lands owned by the Government on said 
island are free from the claims of squatters, 
and that the only occupants thereon are 
eight in nunibei-, wlui hold leases under and 
acknowleilge themseh'es teiumts of said 
Government, in which lease it is specificallv 
agi'eed that the 1,'ssors are to vacate the 
premises in thirt\' dtus from the date of 
l'ecei\int; notice i-e(pru-iiig them to lea\ e 
T. ,1. I'li'KETT, Go\'ernnieut .\gent. 

Hock Islanil. ill., Oct. '-'."i, bstil." 

Copies of the above memorial were freely 
distriliuteij among the membi-rs of Congress 
and laid on the desk of every senator and 
representative. An act of Congress pro- 
viding for the Arsenal antl .\rmory, and mak- 
ing an appropriation of -SlOO, ()()(), was passed 
July 11, 1.S62. In May of the following year 
a commission, composed of Major F. 1). Call- 
ander, Major C. P. Kingsbury and Captain 
F. J. Tread well, was sent by the Ordinance 
Department to locate the pro])osed Arsenal 
building on Rock Island. Sites also foi- mag- 
azines on the island were recomnieniled by 
the commission. Tlu' report was adopted and 
Major Kingsbury was ordered to take charge 
of the work of construction. He arrived in 
August, 1863, and (Ui the .'id day of Septem- 
l:)er broke ground for the government build- 
ing at the lower end of the island. 

F'rom an article prepareil by ('aptain L. 
M. Haverstick, and published in the Chicago 
Inter-Occan at the time we quote the follow- 
ing, with a few changes adapting it to our 
purjjose: 



58 



II I ST R I C R C K ISLAND COUNTY 



"An arsenal merely for the storage and 
repair of arms was not what the Ordnance 
Department contemplated, nor what the 
country needed at Rock Island. Therefore 
in August, 1865, General T. J. Rodman was 
assigned to the command of the island, with 
instructions to prepare plans for an armory 
and arsenal combined, where small arms and 
other munitions of war could be manufactured 
as well as repaired and stored. The great 
scientific knowledge and long experience of 
General Rodman peculiarly fitted him for 
this work, and the result was an elaborate 
plan, equal to the wants and interests of the 
country." 

GENERAL RODMAN'S PLANS. 

General Rodman's plans were submitted to 
Congress during the session of 1865 and ap- 
proved. An appropriation was made to be- 
gin .work on the new buildings; and from that 
time foiward steady progress has been made 
until now Rock Island Arsenal is the fore- 
most in the United States. 

A portion of the Island had been sold under 
a special act of Congress. The Chicago, 
Rock Island it Pacific Railroad Company 
had located their track across the island and 
built upon its banks the abutments for their 
bridges. When the Government decided to 
utilize the island for a permanent and ex- 
tensive manufacturing depot, it was found 
necessary to buy out the interests of the [u-i- 
vate parties and of the railroad company. 
A commission consisting of General J. M. 
Scofield, Selden M. Church and .James Barnes, 
was appointed to a])])raisc the lands on the 
island owned by individuals. 

An act of (Congress, approved June 27, 
1866, approj)riated the money necessary to 
buy out tlu-ir claims, authorized the rcloca. 
tion of the railroatl Ijridge, and ])rovided for 
compensating the railroad company for 
changing its route across the island. The 
same act made an appropriation to begin 
work on the development of the waterpower. 



Under this and subsequent acts the Govern- 
ment united with the railroad company in 
the erection of the iron bridge, which served 
the general purposes until the constitution 
of the present magnificent bridge, sharing 
in the expense and securing a free wagon way 
in addition to the railroad tracks. 

By order of the War Department, in July, 
1863, Rock Island was made a military 
prison for the confinement of Confederate 
]3risoners. During the same month, Captain 
Charles A. Reynolds, Assistant Quarter- 
master United States Army, arrived, and 
commenced building a prison and barracks. 
The first soldiers for guard duty arrived 
November 2, 1863. Lieutenant Colonel Schaff- 
ner arrived on the 19th of November and 
took command. On the22d, Colonel Richard 
Henry Rush arrived and took command of 
the post, and Colonel A. J. Johnson was ap- 
])ointed in charsic of the prisoners. The first 
installment of prisoners, taken at the battle 
of Lookout Mountain, arrived from Chatta- 
nooga, Decend)er 3, 1863; and from that 
time until the close of the war a' large number 
of prisoners were kejit under a strong guard 
upon the island. The whole number of 
prisoners confined here was 12,215; the num- 
ber of deaths was 1,960. About 500 died of 
small-i)()x, many of sciu'vy, and others of 
various diseases, chiefly pneumonia. They 
were put into rough boxes and buried in 
trenches. The corner-posts of the cemetery 
where their ashes repose, are composed of 
camum taken from the Confederates, planted 
with their muzzles in the ground, and strung 
around with chains. Within this enclosure 
sleep nearly 2,000 Confederate dead. At a 
few of the graves, friends of the deceased 
have erected plain headstones, and placed 
on them a few simple inscriptions. There 
is also near the head of the island, a Union 
soldiers' cemetery where 310 graves are en- 
closed by a neat fence. 

On July 11, 1862, Congress passed the act 
authorizing the establishment of the Arsenal 



// I sr U R I (' ROC K I S L .1 .V I) C U N T Y 



59 



and providing the fir.st funds t'oi' l)('i;innin.t; 
the necessary buildings. 

Major C. P. Kingsbury , a well kiinwn and 
competent officer of the (Jrdnance Depart- 
ment, was assigned as the first commandant 
and under liis direction, a year later, a store- 
house was erected at the lower or extreme 
western end of the Arsenal, whicli, with its 
tower and clocfc, has since Ijecn a landmark 
and an object of interest, not mei'ely to the 
inhaf>itants of the three cities, but also to all 
travelers on the main line of the Rock Island 
road. 

In 1S65 General Thomas .] . Rodman was 
assigned to the command, and followed in 
1S71 by General I). \\'. I'lagler. who remained 
commamUxnt until 1S.S(). To ilicsc two of- 
ficers is mainly due the ui'iieral plan of the 
Arsenal as it exists today, with nearly all its 
])rinci])al l^uildings; their concept ion of the 
dis|iosifion and arran.iiemeui df ihe leii ^i-eat 
sho])s, with the various subsidiai'v biuldiiiiis. 
was an immense ad\-ance o\'er the stereo- 
typed plan of all arsenal constrm-t ion of pi-e- 
eeding years, and in sulisequent develo]iments, 
in response to great demands upon the Ar- 
senal's resources, has [iroved most admirably 
adapted for the purpose for which designed. 

These plans as first prepared by liodman, 
developed by Flagler, and followed with only 
slight modifications by their successors, have 
resulted in the erection, principally of .loliet 
stone, of a magnificent eriuii)ment of shops, 
storehouses, l}arrackH. (juarters and numerous 
sulisidiary l)>iil dings. 

The shops comprise ten stone buildings 
sixty feet wide, built arouinl three sides of a 
rectangular central ccnirt, with fronts two 
hundred aiul ten feel and wings three hun- 
dre(l feet long: eight of Ihe shops are of four 
stories, the other two of only one, f)ut pro- 
viding in all over thirty acres of floor space. 
Seven of these buildings are now occupied liy 
machinery, the other three by the raw mater- 
ial for manufacture and by finished stores. 
There are also two large storehouses and 



numerous other small buildings for boilers 
for the heating |.ilant and for lumber, coal, oil. 
etc.. for ofhcer's quarters, soldiers' barracks 
and for the many other necessities of a large 
government manufacturing establishment. 

One of these storehouses replaced an earlier 
structure destroyed Ijy fire with its contents 
was only completed in the spring of 1905. 
It is most recently erected of all the main 
buildings of the Arsenal. 

For many years the commandant's quar- 
ters and three others of stone have provided 
accommodations for the assistant officers, 
but within the last few years two attractive 
Iniildings of moi'e modern design, one frame 
and tlie other of yellovi brick, have been 
erected at the eastern end of Terrace Road, 
forming a most ;[tti'acti\'e addition to the 
residential district of ili<> .\rseiial, and durinsi 
the i^resent yeai'. the old Imildim^s, relics of 
ihe ('i\il War. used for main' \'ears as a 
luiSpital and as stables, have l)een replaced 
by attr;icti\e :\nd con\'enient modern struc- 
tures. 

In May, ISSti, ("(.loiiel T. ({. Baylor, Ord- 
nance Department, succee(led (ieneral Hagler 
as commandant. He was followed three years 
later l)y Colonel .1. M. Whitle more and he, in 
1892, by Cieneral A. R. Hulfington, who con- 
tinued in command for five years. I'nder 
these officers the main buildings were carried 
to completion, manufactures prosecuted at a 
moderate scale, and under the latter, the 
present magnificent liridge from the Arsenal 
to Davenport erected. 

The island is connected with the three 
neighboring cities l)y bridges built and owned 
by the Government and maintained and 
guarded by the Arsenal, and by its own track 
with the railways that reach them. The 
bridge from the Arsenal to the ('it\- of Daven- 
port is the third bridge pro\ ided for railway 
and subsequently for general traffic. Of the 
first nothing now remains but a vine-covered 
stone pier about a quarter of a mile above the 
present structure. It was the |uoneer bridge 



60 



H I i^TORlC ROCK I fi L A N D COUNTY 



across the Mississippi river from its mouth to 
its source and was completed fifty-two years 
ago, being used by the Rock Island railroad 
until October, 1872, when a bridge upon the 
present location was finished. Twenty-four 
years later this latter bridge, having proved 
insufficient for the traffic to which it was sub- 
jected, the present magnificent structure was 
finished. Its total length is 1 ,550 feet, divided 
into five spans and one draw. It is double 
decked.with a dtiuble railroad track above and 
double street car track and wagon bridge be- 
low. The traffic across this liridge is now much 
greater than formerly and is an indication of 
the growth of population in the cities of Rock 
Island and Davenport, which it connects. 
Now it is at the rate of about 40,000 engines 
annually, over 80,000 passenger cars, and 
340,000 freight cars. In addition over 450,000 
teams and nearly 1,000,000 pedestrians. 

Only about 1,000 steamboats passed up 
and the same number down and the traffic 
through the draw of barges and rafts has 
decreased year by year. 

A trolley line also crosses the bridge and is 
traversed during the year by over 100,000 
street cars. A branch of this line was some 
years ago extended from Fort Armstrong 
Avenue, crossing the western end of the is- 
land, for about a mile up to the shops and 
extending beyond across the branch of the 
river at the south of the island to the neigh- 
Ijoring City of Rock Island. It was built in 
response to petitions from Arsenal workmen 
for their accommodation and under a special 
revocable license granteil by the Secretary of 
War for that purpose. It is not available 
for general traffic from Davenport to Rock 
Island, nor from either city to the Ar- 
senal, being reservetl solely for use of the 
employes. 

In March, 1897, Oaptain Stanhojie E. 
Blunt, Ordnance Department, was appointed 
commandant and through successive pro- 
motions to Major, I;ieutenant-(^oloiiel and 
Colonel, the latter grade being given in June, 



1906, has through more than ten years' con- 
tinued in command. 

Colonel Blunt's administration has been 
marked by great expansion in the Arsenal's 
facilities for manufacturing war material; 
over $1,200,000 worth of modern machinery 
being installed in the shops, and the power 
transmission system changed from the anti- 
quated wire rope transmission of the water 
power to a modern hydro-electric plant of 
amply capacity for the Arsenal's needs. 

The island, containing nearly 1,000 acres, 
is irregular in shape, about two and one-half 
miles long and throe-fourths of a mile across 
at its widest ])art. 

The main channel of the Mississippi river 
passes between the island and the Iowa shore, 
a much narrower branch separating it from 
the Illinois bank. Across this smaller stream, 
a short ilistance aliove the shops, a masonry 
dam has l)een constructed producing, in con- 
.sequence of the reach of rapids opposite and 
above the island, a water power of ample 
capacity; having a head of from seven and 
one-half to eleven feet, according to the stage of 
the river, and on the dam, operated by twenty 
turbines, have been installed three alternating 
current generators of 1,650 kilowat total 
capacity, with the accompanying exciters, 
switchboard, etc., required for their operation. 

The building lu)using this installation, with 
generators, shafting and all other incidental 
machinery, has lieen completed, not only in a 
substantial but in a highly ornamental man- 
ner, rendering the power house not only one 
of the most interesting objects for visitors to 
the Arsenal, but also from its appearance one 
of the most attractive. 

At present nearly .'3,000 horse-power is thus 
provitled, which can be increased, if it should 
ever prove necessary, by utilizing pen- 
stocks on the dam now occupied, and 
installing the corresponding additional elec- 
trical machinery. 

None of th(> navy yards or other arsenals 
possess this combination of ample water 



HIS T HI C RU C K ISLAND C U N T Y 



61 



powpf and electrical transmission, and the de- 
veloi^nient of the power plant to its present 
really magnificent condition, perniittiiia: the 
greatest economy, with also the greatest 
facility and convenience of operation, is 
one of the principal distingiiishing features 
of the Rock Island Arsenal. 

Several years ago Congress made a prelimi- 
nary ap]iropriation for the necessary machin- 
ery for manufacture of small arms at the Ar- 
senal, following it at the next session with a 
sufficient sum to permit the installation of a 
plant that should turn out al)out two lunidrod 
and fifty finished rifles per day. 

The complete estalilishment of the plant 
required a material increase in the jiower ]H'o- 
vided and also its transmission to the new 
armory: it also included the completion of 
three of the Large shops, wiih elevators, a 
steam heating plant, lavatory conveniences, 
work benches for employes, rooms for fore- 
men and inspectors, anil the introduction of 
the man\' minor hut essential ajipliances 
rerpiisite for economical and efficient opera- 
tion, including even timnels connecting llie 
basement floors of the different shops, which 
afford passage for the heating ]jipes, fuel oil 
]iipes, electric power and lighting wires, ami 
for small trolley cars for transportation be- 
tween buildings of the various components of 
of the rifles in the different stages of their 
manufacture. 

In this small-arms plant and in the shops 
of the southern row over 2,400 machines of 
a great variety are disposed, with the shaft- 
ing for their operation and the necessary 
benches, and the other numerous appliances 
requisite for their occupancy by workmen. 
Operation of the shops upon the scale now 
required for the manufactvu-e of gvm carriages, 
eqtiipments, small arms, etc., employs at 
present about 2,000 men, at a monthly charge 
for wages of from $12.5,000 to »! 30,000. If 
compared with its operation ten years ago 
it will be observed that four times as many 
men are now employed as at the earlier date 



and that the monthly wages are about five 
times .greater. The annual tonnage of re- 
ceipts and issues is also five times greater 
than in 1S1)7. The total expenditures at the 
Arsenal in the fiscal year 1S97 for all purposes 
amounted to IfOS.S.OOO: whik." for the last three 
fiscal years it has averaged nearly S4. 000, Odd 
annually 

The Arsenal upon the scale now operated 
provides tlie soldici's' ordnance equipment 
for an armv of 00,000 men, and is besides 
constantly adding to the reserve supply. 
]^y merely taking on additional emjiloyes it 
could, without delay, increase its output to 
meet the demaiuls of an army of half a mil- 
lion men. and by adding additional machin- 
ery, for which necessary space and power has 
been jirovided and its disposition arranged 
for, and also llir eniploNes foi- its o]ieration. 
this ovitput could be still fui'tlici' immensely 
increased. 

Besides the saddle in all its jiarts, beginning 
with the lumber used in the safldletree, the 
bridle, saddlebags, rifle scabbard, halter, 
horse-l)rush, cartridge Ikix, saber belt, anil 
many other articles included under the gener- 
al designation of infantry, cavalry and horse 
ecpiipment, are also made. The haversack, 
canteen, cup, meat can, kinfe, fork and spoon_ 
of duck and other material, which constitute 
the soldiers' more personal equipment, and 
of metal the bits, spvu-s, ])icket pin, etc.. 
which he also uses, are included in the manu- 
factures. 

I\Iany sets of artillery harness are annually 
made and also the numerous parts and gen- 
eral supplies pertaining thereto. Also pack 
outfits for mountain artillery by means of 
which gims, their carriages and ammunition 
are carried on mule liack. 

The Arsenal has recently completed .some 
six-inch Ijarbette carriages for seacoast forts 
and for four years past has been regularly 
engaged in the manufacture of a large number 
of the new three-itu'h field gun carriages, 
model of 1902, with the accompanying 



62 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



limbers, caissons, battery wagons, and their 
tools, implements, etc. This is of itself a 
most important work, requiring the services 
of a number of the best mechanics, and would 
alone be deemed elsewhere a sufficient task 
for many an establishment, thoush at Rock 
Island it comprises as stated only a portion 
of the inanufacturing work. 

Tn order that the field artillery carriages 
manufactured at the Arsenal may be tested 
before issue to develop any unknown defects 
if they should exist, all such material is proof 
fired at grounds specially laid out for that 
pvirpose at the upper or eastern end of the 
island. This included a large timber and 
sand butt into which the projectiles are shot, 
and which is of such dimensions that they 
cannot emerge therefrom. The many addi- 
tional instruments for determining the veloc- 
ity of the projectile, velocity of recoil of parts 
of the carriage, or pressure of the powder 
charge in the bore, and other features neces- 
sary to give the constructing officer of ord- 
nance the information which he needs in de- 
signing other material, or in verifying the 
correctness of the design undergoing proof, 
are also installed in special structures erected 
at the proving ground for their reception. 
With these buildings is included an obsen'a- 
tion tower permitting by its use a river 
range for firing up the river of approximately 
6,500 yards and enabling these carriages to be 
tested and proof fired under an elevation. 

The Arsenal also makes the wooden targets 
of different designs and all the paper targets, 
steel silhouette frames, and pasters used in 
target practice, as well as the insignia indi- 
cating the soldiers' classification in markman- 
ship, and the various insignia on saddle 
cloths, rosettes on bridles, and similar orna- 
mental jewelers' work. 

In its armory shops the daily output for 
several years past has been from one hundred 
to one himdred and twenty-five finished mag- 
azine rifles per day, an industry in itself of 
greater magnitude than that of the army's 



other .small arm factory until within very 
recent years. 

Besides its manufactures the Arsenal is 
also the distributing point to all |)arts in the 
middle west for the product of other arsenals 
and of the private establishments from which 
the government purchases. 

The total cost of the Arsenal from its es- 
tablishment to July 1, 1907, including the 
erection of the permanent buildings, the ac- 
quisition, development and later improve- 
ment of the water power, the , large bridge 
across the Mississippi, and the smaller ones 
to the Illinois shore, and the purchase and 
installation of the machinery in the shops, 
under the different commandants is as follows: 

Major C. P. Kingsbury, 1863-65, $231,384.- 
72; General T. J. Rodman, 1865-71, $2,302,- 
626.30; General D. W. Flagler, 1871-86, 
$4,982,481.45; Colonel T. G. Baylor, 1886-89, 
.$663,4.50.00; Colonel J. M. Whittemore, 1889- 
92, .$377,318.48; General A. R. Buffington, 
1892-97, $477,375.50; Colonel S. E. Blunt, 
1897-07, $2,051,198.88; total, $11,085,8-35.33. 

The total disbursement for labor has been 
$17,213,056.90 since the establishment of the 
Arsenal to .luly 1, 1907. 

During the first twenty-five years, or 
up to the conclusion of General Flagler's 
administration, construction of buildings, 
bridges, roads, etc., and the earlier steps in 
development of water power formed the 
principal work, the very limited amovmt 
of machinery which had been installed, being 
operated to only a moderate extent and the 
disbursements, including wages, being mainly 
in connection with building construction. 

In the second period, continuing until 
about the time of the Spanish War, construc- 
tion except for the rebuilding of the bridge 
from the Arsenal to Davenport, nearly 
ceased, while the manufacturing operations 
of the Arsenal continued at a slightl}' increas- 
ing but still very moderate extent. 

The third period embraces the great in- 
crease in amount and variety of manufacture, 



H I S T () R I V R O C K 1 S L A N D C O U N T Y 



63 



including that of small arms, and afCdinpany- 
iiig exjiansion of plant, with some inciden- 
tal huildinc; operations, commencing in the 
latter part of 1S<,I7, during the lirst year of 
the administration of Colonel Hhmt, sliglitly 
before the earlier days of tlie Sjianish War, 
and continuing to the present date. 

Senator Allison, to whose faith aiul interest 
in the Arsenal must be largely ascril)e<l the 
generous apjiroitriations g;ranted during many 
years past for its construction and develop- 
ment, is quoted as saying that " Rock Island 
Arsenal, during the few months of the hite 
Spanish War, more than retiu-ned ii\ advan- 
tage to the country the great cost of its con- 
struction; and imciuestionably in a war of 
any magnitude an<l duration this cost would 
again lie repaid many fold. 

The Arsenal from March, 1S97 to August, 
1907, was commanded by Colonel Stanhope 
E. Blunt, Ordnance Department. The other 
officers are now Ma,jors Babbitt, Thoin])son 
and Burr; Captains Gallup and Hillman and 
Contract Sin'geon Craig. The garrison is a 
iletachment of one hundred soldiers of the 
Ordnance Dejiartment, 

Commencing in the spring of 1!)07, the 
sui^erstructiu'e of the old truss liridge, o\-er 
Sylvan Water, connecting the Island with the 
Illinois shore, was removed, for the prepa- 
ration of the new viaduct concrete Itridge. 
The old four stone piers, with two abutments, 
were used in the new suljstructure, and 
owing to the girder stvle of construction of 



the new bridge, four new concrete piers were 
built. The new viaduct bridge was designed 
by Ral])h Modjeski, the noted architecturi'.l 
engineer, and built under the supervision 
of the war department; the contractors l)eing 
Bayne and Hewett of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Its construction repi'e^ents an expenditure 
by the governnient of $12"), ()()(.), with $]6()() 
additional, for widening the causeway, be- 
tween the bridge and l''ort .\rmstrong Avenue, 
and briilge sidewalks. Tlie Tri-City Railway 
Company, assuming tiie cost of the brick 
cemented dri\'eway, troUey poles, and new 
tracks, amoiuiting to SIO.OOO; making a total 
cost of SI -36, ()()(), The new bridge w!is 
opened for street car and passenger traffic 
December 12, 1907; opened for general 
traffic, December IS, 1907, and was accepted 
by the government, .laiiu.ai'y Ui, 19()S. 

The v\idth of the structure is twenty feet 
lietween curlxs, with two sidewalks, each six 
feet. 

The incline approach from the City of Rock 
Island side consists of the original stone wall 
one hundred ami twenty-four feet long; the 
new concrete wall, joining same, extending 
to railroad track abutment, is one hundred 
and seventy feet long. The bridge ])ro])er 
consists of eleven spans, making a length 
of SOl.l feet, and total length with approach 
approximately 109(j feet. The solidity of the 
entire structure is evident in every detail. 

The present commandant of the Island, is 
Colonel S. E. Hobbs. 



64 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



TOPOGRAPHY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Rock Island t'ounty lies vipon the western 
lioundary of the jireat agricultural prairie 
state of Illinois. This boundary, the majes- 
tic Mississippi River, is bordered by bluffs 
that give a rugged and diversified surface to 
this river county. Rock Island County is 
notably a river county, for it stretches for 
almost sixty miles in an irregular strip along 
the Father of Waters. It also has for its 
boundary line (for the upper half of the 
county) upon the southeast another famous 
stream. Rock River. The third natural 
boundary is Meredosia Slough or creek which 
separates Rock Island from Whiteside County 
for some miles on the county's northeastern 
portion. The county is separated into two 
somewhat compact sections or portions by 
the Rock River which crosses the coimty on 
its way to vmion with the Mississippi. 

The northern section of the county has 
unusual topographical interest, l)eing almost 
entirely upland of an elevation of fifty to 
one hundred feet above the general level of 
the rivers on either side. This wall of bluffs 
varies greatly in outline and picturesqneness. 
It is of gentle declivity at times and at others 
of rugged abruptness. The bluffs along the 
Mississippi follow the river in general and for 
the most part rise from the water's edge. A 
few miles above the present locations of 
Moline and Rock Island the Viluff line recedes 
from the river, and an alluvial ))lain of rich- 
ness and gentle slope is formed. The bluffs 
which form the other side of this plateau of 
the upper county section are manifest in 
rugged beauty along the north bank of the 



Rock River near the location of Milan. The 
lines of blufY and stream diverge not far east 
of Milan, leaving a broad stretch of alluvial 
acres. The same relative location of bluff 
and stream and plain is maintained after the 
Meredosia Slough is reached. From this creek 
the bluffs turn west and reach the ^Mississippi 
near Cordo^•a. Men of research say that it is 
altogether jirobable that in the early days 
of the great river its path lay through the 
Meredosia Slough and the bed and valley of 
Rock River. If so, the portion of Rock 
Island County under consideration, at one 
time was ujion the western or Iowa side of 
the Father of Waters. This ele^•ated tract 
of the upper comity was originally well 
covered with undergrowth and scattering 
timber. Its sm-face is fairly rough but is 
generally continuous except where a depres- 
sion called Pleasant Valley cuts across the 
upland region from Hampton on the Mississ- 
ippi to Carbon Cliff on Rock River. The 
farms in Pleasant Valley are considered among 
the best of the upper county. The elevated 
region has been fanned many years and has 
been made to yield productively, especially 
in cereals and fruits. The bottom lands are 
of surpassing fertility. Along the rivers 
there are some sandy tracts that are unfitted 
for tillage, but in the main the farmers of this 
portion of the covmty ha\'e greatly prospered. 
The southern poitioh of Rock Island 
County is a fairly symmetrical rectangle 
thirty-three miles from east to west. It has 
for its northern boundary the Mississippi 
and Rock Rivers. Its western boundary is 



HISTORIC RO C K ISLAND C U N T Y 



65 



alsothe Mississi]!])! which turnstnthesoulhwanl 
at Muscatine on the Iowa shore or just west of 
Drury's landing on the Illinois side. Mercer 
County lies to the south and Henry Connly to 
the east of this portion of Rock Island Ci unity. 

This section comprises the greater part of 
the excellent farming; lands of the county. 
There are alluvial liottom JancLs, rolling up- 
land jirairies and bluff lands of less agricul- 
tiu'al \'alue. The prairies resjionded most 
quickly to the efforts of the early settler and 
have for many years shown the most beautiful 
farms in the county. The alhuial lands were 
some what swampy or l->oggy in pari and tlid 
not yield well until modern methods of diain- 
age were employed. Along the soulli side 
of the Rock River bottiuu blulTs aiipoar, the 
range rising abruptly in places tu an a\erage 
height of more than one lumdred feet. At 
Andalusia the bluffs approach the Mississi]ipi 
River which washes their base almost to the 
southern line of the county, except in a few 
places where an uncultivaleil low botloni 
intervenes, seamed with sloughs. This range 
of bluffs is cut up with hollciws and 
ra\ines aiul is covered with a luoclerate 
gniwth of timber, principally oak. Tlie 
rough land extending back into the highland 
for several miles is the least \aluable portion 
of the coimty for agriculture. 

Rock River is the princi|ia! stream within 
the borders of the coimty and furnishes a 
water power second only to the Mississi])))!. 
It rises in Wisconsin about midway between 
the Wisconsin River and Lake Michigan. Its 
course in Illinois is almost one hvmdred and 
eighty miles long. Its chief tributary, the 
Pecatonica, discharges its watei-s below the 
northern boundary of the state. The valley 
of the Rock River is one of the most healthfid 
and wealthy sections of Illinois. After form- 
ing a portion of the boundary between Henry 
and Rock Island C<nmties it divides the latter 
into its northern and southern portions and 
empties into the Missi.ssippi about three miles 
below the City of Rook Island. In the last 



few miles of the stream there is a sharp fall in 
level, and as a result a series of beautiful rapids. 

CKnT.odv . 

The soil of the Hock Hixer and Meredosia 
bottoms is the I'icli alhuial deposit that is 
found in the neigliljurliood of all streams in 
this part of the Mississiiipi basin. The small 
portion of the county lyinLr north of the bluff 
line is level sand prairie. This level stretch 
assists the imagination in calling up a vision 
of a mightier Mississip]ji than the one with 
which the earliest inhalutanis of the valley 
were accpiainted. In those earlier .ages of 
the earth's history when the ii\er divided at 
this point with its ni;iin channel in the sloiu/h 
and Rock River bed it was miles in wiilth. 
This prairie was a broad headland and bar. 
The bluff buttressed upland of the northern 
county was a noble island rising from th(' 
waters of the swiftly r(dling, magnificent 
river. The sand Ijronght down by the cur- 
I'ent lodged against the head of this great 
island and the sand plain was slowly formed, 
just as the liars are now being formed against 
every obstruction in the ri\cr in these days. 

This great stream which has left its history 
written on bluff and bar and pictured in 
sculptured bedrock and drift('(l cairn lias no 
more perfect record than its old shore line 
marked high along its bluffs. The town of 
Cordova is built almost entirely upon a terrace 
which was once the lied of the river. This 
terrace is fifty feet above the present low water 
mark of the Mississippi. This reminder and ev- 
idence of the aiu'ient river's majesty can be 
traced along the slough and Rock River bluffs 
until that river empties into the Mississippi. 

Evidences of glacial drift are almost absent 
in this county. Genuine drift gravel and 
lioulders are scarce. The soil of the bluffs 
and hills is a marly deposit known as "loess" 
which overlies blue clays and sands. Farther 
from the river the "loess" gives place to fine 
luminated drift clays such as cover most 
Illinois high prairies and upland barrens. 



66 



// / N r ORIC RO C K ISLAND COUNT Y 



The surface snil is underlaid by founda- 
tions of stone of successive sreolotjic ap;es. 
At the eastern end of the county near Hamp- 
ton the upper and more shaley beds of the 
Hamilton limestone first appear in outcroii- 
pinsr.s alonp the Mississippi bank. Still 
hea\ier outcrops show near Moline. Here 
the stratum is thicker, is brown in color, and 
is fossil bearing!;. Farther west near Rock 
Island and Milan the Hamilton is thicker, 
bedded ^^■ith more irresular stratification, 
the color bluish \vhite or brown on recent 
fracture, and the ro(d< of firm lexture and 
density. 

The island in the Mississippi known as 
Rock Island is a preat mass of this Hamilton 
limestone, chiseled into shape by the water, 
covered with comparatively thin soil and 
splendidly wimded. This island is rich in 
indications of primitive conditions in this 
section as it has stretches of forest that have 
been allowed to retain their natural beauty 
and charm. 

The DeA'onian limestone of this county 
have been divided V)_y scientists for litho- 
logical reasons into three divisions namely: 
the upper, the middle and the lower; each 
marked by its distinguishing character- 
istics. The upper-most division is limestone 
of gray or brown color, is rough and coarse- 
grained, and filled with the shells and corals 
that mark the Hamilton beds. The deposit 
is from thirty to forty feet in thickness. The 
middle ilivision is made up of .argillaceous 
and calcareous shales of equal thickness, this 
rock being filled with characteristic Hamilton 
fossils. Tlie most easily noted outcropping of 
this division is between Rock Island and Moline 
where in quarrying a perpendicular space of 
thirty feet has been exposed. Under this 
division lies the third division which consists 
of a fine grained compact stone, of gray or 
dove color. This extends below the river 
level and is of an imknown thickness. It has 
been penetrated by borings to the depth of 
one hundred and seventy-five feet. 



This Devonian limestone of the third 
division forms the bed of Mississippi and Rock 
Rivers in this region. Rock River from 
Milan almost to the Mississippi is paved with 
what seem to be massive blocks of this com- 
pact stone irregular in size and contour and 
worn to smoothness by the ceaseless flow of 
the rapid current. The depth of this lithic 
stream bed has not been determined. At 
Sears' mill which formerly stood below Black 
Hawk's Watch Tower, rock was quarried 
from the stone floor of the channel to the 
depth of twenty feet, and it is probable that 
they were only upon the upper surface of the 
formation. Xt Cleveland near the eastern 
line of the county this same rock appears in 
the bed of the stream, so that it is probable 
that the berl of Rock River in its course along 
and through Rock Island County is formed 
of the Hamilton limestone at times obscured 
and overlaid by a mud deposit made possible 
by irregularities in the formation and moder- 
ate river fall. The limestone of the Hock 
River l-)ed shows few fossils. 

It is this same division of the Hamilton 
limestone that forms the bed of the Mississijjpi 
throughout the sixty miles that this stream 
washes the shores of Rock Island County on 
the north and west. It created the terrors 
for the early navigators by its "hog-backs" 
and rocky chains thrown across the rapids in 
their sixteen miles of declivity and rapid 
rush of the mighty current. From the City 
of Rock Island to the western border of the 
county there are but few places where the 
bed of the stream is so near the surface of the 
water as to cause trouble to the rivermen. It 
is an alternation of stretches of sand, mud and 
rocky bottom. 

At Andalusia excellent building stone has 
been quarried from this lowest member of 
, the Hamilton grcjup. The layers are com- 
paratively thin. The stone is fossiliforous 
and of a dove or light blue color. 

Another limestone formation apjiearing 
locally that has added to the wealth of Rock 



// / S T H I (• HOC K I S L A N D (' d U N T Y 



67 



Island County is the Niagara deposit which 
outcrops heavily from Cordova to Port Byron. 
A little south of Ilaiiiptoii it disappears lie- 
neath the outliers of the foal measures. At 
Cordova this limestone has a touj^h consisten- 
cy and hornstone appe:irance, diffcrin,!i in 
these respects from the same formation as it 
appears farther north alone; the river bank. 
.\11 the u])land rejiion of the ui)per county 
lying above J'leasant Valley is mulcrlaid by 
this Niagara limestone. The upjier soil and 
n]iland clay is cut ihruugh by the streams 
and in the beds of these small waterways the 
limestone appears. 

This Niagara limestone has l)een commer- 
cially ^•aluable through its burning into 
excellent quicklime whicli is sti'oiig, white 
and ))ure. .\\ Cordcn'a and I'ort Byron there 
have been for many years e.xtensive works 
for the manufactiu-e of lime and this has 
found its way on its merits into the markets 
of this country The Hamilton limestone 
has also been foimd very available for lime- 
i)ur7iiiig and gi'cat quantities of tliis raw 
material have been converted into merchant- 
able lime. The limestone dejiosits of Ilock 
ishmd County ha\e furnished inexhaustible 
(piantities of building stone to the (piarryman 
and builder. 

Another lithic mine of weahii to the settlers 
of Rock Island Coiu)ty has been the dejiosit of 
sandstone which outcrops in the lower part of 
the county. l'"or a half century a quai'ry in a 
ravine midway Ijetween Millan and .Anda- 
lusia has furnished building stone or rock for 
heavy masonry. The stone is dark colored 
and iron stained and comes from a stratum 
about ten feet thick. This deposit seems to 
be available by remo\'ing the soil deposit at 
any point along the bluffs to the west line of 
the county. Near Copper Creek in Drury 
Township there is a quarry which has supplied 
the demand for this material for wails which 
has proved durable and reliable where it has 
been used. After many years of use it seems 
to l)e unaffected by the elements. 



The clays of the upper part of the county 
have been used foi- conimerciid purposes. 
Tliere are uiiliniitcd deposits of material for 
the manufacture of drain tile and this has 
bec(une an important iiidusti'y at \ai-ious 
])oiMts, the UKist impoi'taut point for manu- 
facturing and shi])ping lieing t'arbon Cliff on 
accoimt of excellence of clay and con^-enience 
to railroads. 1'lie \ein of potter's clay whii-h 
also appears in this section of Jiock Island 
Countv has been worked to advanttige. 
There has been a i)otter\' in successful ofier- 
ation at Hampton for many years. 

In this series of geological notes nat>u-ally 
belongs reference to a remarkable group of 
mineral springs known as the " Rinnah 
Wells" springs. They have lieen known 
from Indian days to lia\c uicdicinal pi'opei'- 
ties and smne of them were long ago improved 
by stone curbs and facilities for obtaining tlu^ 
water in perfect purit\'. The sediment of 
the water caused by natiu-al oi- ariitici.al 
evaporation is a whitish mineral salt of pi-o- 
nounced and I'ather agi'eeable soda t.-iste. 
These springs have also been called the 
"Wliite Sulphur Springs", also the "Soda, 
Springs" and through the similarity of the 
waters to those famous ones of Saratoga 
and their marked medicinal value it was 
|inipliecied years ago that a great resort 
would some day be built u]> near Andalusia. 
These expectations have so far been unreal- 
ized, tlie use of the waters luning been limited 
to local converts to their good qualities. It 
may yet be that Andalusia with its romantic 
name and waters of healing may yet attract 
the attention of the world and that this 
beautifully located village may be the luecca 
of tourists and healthseekers. 

NATUR.\L SCENIC BEAUTY. 

The variety in the topography of Rock 
Island Comity has made possible scenery of 
commanding Ijeauty. Early voyagers were 
impressed with the charm of situation of Hock 
Island, the splendid island surroutided iiy the 



68 



// I ST Rl C R C K 1 S LAND COUNTY 



bright waters of the Mississi])])! mid hounded 
by the outlj-ing bluffs Hke unto a spacious 
amphitheatre changing with tlie seasons from 
the charm of green clad eminence to russet 
autumn foliage splashed with vermilion tints 
and then to sno>v-clad winter hills. Many 
chapters liave been written of this section. 
One extract will be sufficient to give an idea 
of all. Governor Reynolds in his "f.ife and 
Times" lias this paragraph: "The scenery 
about Kock Island is not surjiassed by any 
in the whole length of tlie Mississippi. 1| 
seems as thougbv Nature had made an effi^rt 
in forming this beautiful and picturesque 
country. Rock Island itself presents a grand 
and imposing appearance, rising out of the 
waters of the Mississippi a solid rock with 
many feet elevation. It is se\cral miles 
long, and three-fourths of a mile wide. The 
rocks are covered with a fertile soil. The 
river washes arounrl its base witli a rapid 
current of pure and limpid water and Rock 
River, a few miles south, is seen in the dis- 
tance, forcing its way with £rreat rapidity over 
the rocky rapids into the Fatlier of Waters. 
The country around it is intersperse<l with 
beautiful groves of timber, which give to-the 
scene a sweetness and a beauty rarely equaled. 
The blue hills in the distance, directing the 
course of the river, are seen on the north and 
the south to rise with gentle slopes from the 
water to considerable elevations, and the 
valley between, embracing the ri\er is some 
miles in extent, presenting a variety of surface 
and a beauty of landscape never surpassed." 
This scenic beauty Rock Island Ccuuity 
naturally shares with the part of Iowa lying 
on the opposite bank of the Mississippi- 
There is however one location of great nattu'al 
beauty solely within the boundaries of this 
county. It is the rugged upland formed on 
one hand by the bluffs of the Mississippi and 
on the other by the precipitous bluffs of the 
Rock River. From countless elevations on 
this tract there are views of surpassing 
beauty. The eye is challenged by striking 



declivities of solid rock; rests admiringly 
upon sti'etches of woods that border windina; 
streams of bright and limpid water and rests 
peacefully upun widely stretching farmlands 
marked by hedgerows and clumps of trees. 
Rising abrujjtly for a height of two hundred 
feet above the water level is the eminence 
known as Black Hawk's Watch Tower. 
From the crest of this noble hill a panorama 
of striking lieauty is unrolled liefore the eye 
<if the visitor. To the west stretches the line 
of bluffs that overlooks the confluence of the 
waters of tlie Missi,ssip]n and Rock Rivers. 
To the southwest one can see the location of 
Rlack ?Iawk's village. To the south in th»> 
foreground lies the town of Milan to wliich the 
elevation and distance give picturesqueness. 
In the immediate foreground are the four 
channels of Rock River spanned by railroad 
and wagon liridges, the intervening islands 
covered with groves of stately elms and be- 
tween the shimmering and glancing waters 
hurry over rocky rapids. The neighborhood 
of the Watch Tower, as it is familiarly known, 
is rich in Indian legends through its having 
been the location of one of the largest Indian 
settlements of the continent from the time 
when tradition begins. Black Hawk's Watch 
Tower takes its name from this Indian chief 
and great f^ac warrior; he having watched 
from its summit the approach of the troops 
sent against him by Governor Reynolds at the 
beginning of the short, sharp and decisive 
conflict known in history as Black Hawk's 
War. The Watch Tower is easily accessible 
from Rock Island, Moline, Davenport and 
Milan by electric lines and is visited annually 
by many thousand tourists and residents of 
this locality. A hamlsome inn crowns the 
elevation and the varicnis attractions of a 
modern amusement park furnish recreation 
for the multitude. 

COAL MEASURES. 

In that portion of the county lying ^\est of 
Rock Island the coal measures are found as 



// I S T R I C ROC K ISLAND CO U N T V 69 



"diitliers", overlayiii,^' aii<l resting; vincon- Devonian or Uijper Silurian furraation of 

I'dnnaMv u]ion the l)e^•(lnia ami I'lipor underlyinc: limestone. 

Sihn-inn limestone, as far noi-tli as the vicinity All that part of the nmnty, sonth and east 

of Port Bvnin, where it finally terminates, of the .Mississijuii and tlie Ilcu'k River ran.i^es 

The most norlhei'h- point \\here a woi'kahle of hluffs, is nndei'laiil liy the coal nieasnies. 

lied of coal has been foiunl on this side of the In every part of the county the coal measures 

river, is at Ra])ids City, where the seavn is are covered with a, deep deposit of drift-clays, 

from four to live feet thick, and overlies At Milan, Carbon Cli'T, :iiid easl <if the City 

the Niagara limestone, with (udy a few of Rock Island, this drift clay is from forty 

feet of thickness of shales and fire clay to seventy-five feet in thickness. 

Ijefween. South of liork Ri\ei' the coal measures 

Two miles east of Hampton, where coal are more re'jular and more extensively 

shafts ha\-e been sank, are ,uood seams from develojied th.an in the noi-thern part of the 

fiuu- to fi\e feel thick. The CailMui Clitf couiily. The co:d minins industry in this 

mines were the earliest worked on the west county has become most important. The 

side of Rock Rivei-. I-'or man>- \ears cxten- thi(d<iiess of the coal seems to vary from 

sive coal opei-ations wci'e carried on ;' I this three and a half to fi\c and :\ half feet and is 

point but the limited suppl\- of coal linally reached at a depth of fi-iuu forty to one 

became so nearlv exhausted that niinini; Inmdred and twenty feel. Coal is raised at 

here was disciuitinued. the jiriiicipal mines by steam power. The 

The triangular piece of ele\-ated land east active operations in mining liave greatly 

of the City of Rock Island, l.)oun(led by enhanced the value of contiguous lands, and 

I'leasant Valley, Rock River an<l the Mississ- led to tlie introduction of I'aili'oads as a special 

ippi, is a mass of coal materials, resliug up(U) a, means of transportation. 



70 



n J ST OR 1 C ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY 



111 tlie early history (if the State of Illinois, 
all the territory lying north and west of the 
Illinois River formed one county, under the 
name of Pike County. Prior to the organ- 
ization of Rock Island County, it was at- 
tached to Jo Daviess County. 

By an act of the legislature, approved 
Fehruary 9, 1831, which after fixing the 
boundaries, and naming the county, provided 
for the election of certain county officers, 
whenever it should contain throe hundred 
and fifty inhabitants; and that after such 
election, said County of Rock Island, should 
be considered as organized. Said lioiindaries 
were as follows: Beginning in the middle 
of the ch;uinel of the Mississippi River, on the 
noiili line of Township 1.5, north, and west 
of the l"\iurth Principal Jleridian; thence 
running eastwardly on said line to the Fourth 
Principal Meridian; thence north to the 
middle of the channel of Rock River; thence 
u]) the middle of said channel to the Marais 
d'Osier Slough; thence along the middle of 
said slough to the middle of the channel of 
the Mississi]jpi River; thence down along the 
middle of said cliannel to the place of 
beginning. 

On the first day of Ahirch, IS'.i'.i, a further 
act was passed, and three commissioners were 
apjiointed to select and locate a permanent 
seat of justice for Rock Island County; 
and when selected to be called Stephenson, 
in commemoration of Colonel Benjamin 
Stephenson; also by said act the citizens of 
Rock Island Count v were authorized to elect 



on the first Monday of July, 1S33, three 
county commissioners, one sheriff, three 
justices of the peace (to reside in separate 
districts), three constables, and one coroner. 

An election was held July 5, 1833, at the 
house of John Barrel, in Farnhamsburg, 
near the point where the south end of the 
present south bridge of the Rock Island 
Railroad is now located. 

At this meeting, which was duly held at 
the time and ].)lace apjiointed, sixty-five 
citizens were jiresent and took part. Joseph 
Danforth, Joel Wells, Sr.. and William H. 
Simms served as judges, and Joseph Conway 
and W. Thompson as clerks. Those honored 
by election to the county commissionership 
were: (ieorge W. Harlan, John W. Spencer 
and Colonel Cieorge Davenport. Benjamin 
I'\ Pike was made sheriff; Levi Wells, coroner; 
Cieorge W. Harlan, J. B. Patterson, and Joe 
Wells, Jr., justices of the peace; George V. 
Miller, Huntington Wells, and Edward Cor- 
bin, constables. These were the pioneer 
office-holders of Rock Island County. 

The county commissioners met at John 
Barrel's and organized three days later. 
Joseph Conway was made clerk and Joseph 
Wells, Sr., treasurer and assessor. As there 
was neither county seat or any coitntv build- 
ing, the commissioners ordered that sessions 
of court and general elections be held at the 
house of John Barrel in Farnhamsliurg. 
Asajih Wells and .loel Wells, ,Ir., were ap- 
pointed supervisors of roaiis at the March 
term. ls.'>4. 



H I ST O RI (' li C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



71 



At this time the .settlers had to depend upon 
Fdi't Armstrdnii' for mail facilities. The 
matter of going to the postoliic-e liecanie 
l)urdensome, as it included ferriage to the 
island. This expense adde<l to the postage 
of twenty-five cents on each letter became 
grie\'oiis and the settlers petitioned the 
postmaster-general for a ])ostofhce to be 
established at the conxenient and useful home 
of John Barrel. Thi.s was done in l.S.'v4 
and .loseph ('oii\\a\- made postmaster. 

In June, !.s:i4, the county was di\ideil for 
con\'enience into two \oting precincts, these 
being dcnomin.'itcd the "Cpper" and the 
"bower." Tlic lioundaries of tlu> Upper 
I'recinct commciiccil at the mouth of the 
Marais d'()sicr Slough and continued as far 
west as Henry Ab'Xcal's house. The \-oters 
in this territory assembled at the home of 
Walter Phillips. The lemaiudcr of the county 
formed the bower J'recinct and the voting 
|jlace was fixed at the house owned by Daven- 
port and Faridiam in Farnhamsburg. The 
first .judges apijointeel in the Upper I'recinct 
were Asaph Wells, Janies Haskell and Thomas 
b. (lalpin: ii. the bowei". Joel Wells, Sr., 
William Hrashai' and William Carr. 

I'ebruary I'i. ls:v">, the legislature passed 
an act to establish the county seat of Hock 
Island Uount}'. Tlie i-on,missioiiers appointed 
under this law. on the .Sth day of .lune bs;-!5, 
locatetl and established the town of Stephen- 
son, and the county seat of Hock Island County. 
The commissioners were 'ieorge l)a\en]iort . 
John W. Spencer, and .lolm Vanatta. 

By order of the county commissionei's 
court, in November, ]SSr>, the records and 
courts of the county were remo\ed from 
Farnhamsbiu'g to Stephenson. 

The report of the commissioners was made 
June 8, 1835. This document ordered "that 
Charles R. Bennet be appointed to sur\ey 
the town of Stephenson, in Hock Island 
Coimty, as soon as practible." A further 
provision of the report was to the effect 
that "one-third of the town lots be offered 



for sale on the 11th of July next, and that 
the same be published three times in the 
St. Louis Ri'publiran. the Alton Spectator, 
the Northwestern Gazette and the Cialena 
Advertiser." 

The town of Sle|ihenson was therefore laid 
out by Charles R. P)eniiet and the plat 
recorded .luly 10, 18.3."). This recoreled plat, 
bears the certificate of Joseph Conway, 
clerk to the count_y coiu.missioners. The 
town com|>ri-^ed within its modest limits 
twenty blocks in addition to the one set 
aside for a public square upon which the 
county buildings were to be erecteil and 
upon which the hamlsome modern court 
house now stands The lots were most 
generous, as Ifefilled a time when land was 
cheap. They measured eighty feet front 
and had a depth ol' one hundred and fifty feet. 

Colonel tieorge Davenport, .bilm W. Spen- 
cer and John Vanatta, the count}-' com- 
missioners, entered the town site of Stephen- 
sou for the purposes of a county seat, May 
11, ls:-)6. Its descrii)lion was "the north- 
west fractional fpiarter of Section Ii5, con- 
taining 01.95 acres." This entry was made 
ill the lanil office of this disli'ici at (ialena. 

To add to ll Ilicial dignity of the local 

Courts, the commi.^sioners ordered September 
7, 1.S3.5, " t hat .loseph Conway be authorized 
to get two seals, one for the circuit court of 
Ivock Island County and one for the county 
commissioners' court of Hock Island Comity, 
t he dexice to be a sheaf of wheat and a ])low." 
These coui-ts weve remo\ed from Farnhams- 
burg to the m.'w county seat, Stephenson, in 
No\-endier. bsii."). 

One iiu'ident of these eai'l\- daj's, having 
peculiai- interest through later national legis- 
lati<in and civil war was the ordering of the 
coiu'l that a tax of one-lialf i)er cent be 
lex'ied "on shues or indeirtureil negri) or 
uudatto servants, pleasure carriages, dis- 
tilleries, horses, m\iles, cattle, watches and 
their ap|)endages, household furniture, clocks, 
wagons, carts, sheep and town lots." 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



By this listing of slaves among real and 
personal property with a recognized cash 
value to be the basis of a percentum tax the 
ownership of slaves was recognized in this 
section which later took important and 
active part in the war which destroyed and 
discountenanced the entire system of slave 
ownership. The occasion of the tax levy 
upon "indentured negro servants" was the 
iioiding of slaves by some of the officers at 
the Fort Armstrong garrison. When these 
officers were transferred to this post they 
lirought with them these "indentured negro 
servants." This practice though not sanc- 
tioned by the constittition and laws of the 
State of Illinois was possible under the old 
territorial laws, enacted when Illinois was 
a part of the Territory of Indiana. Under 
tliese territorial provisions permitting slaves 
to be introduced into this free soil as "inden- 
tured servants," many lived iia Illinois. In 
INK) there were one hundred and sixty-eight 
slaves in this state. Ten years later the 
number had increased to nine hundred and 
seventeen. Ten years later in 1S30 there 
were seven hundred and forty-six slaves 
within the borders of Illinois. It was about 
this time that Dr. iMuerson, the surgeon 



of the post, brought to this section as his ser- 
vant, the famous negro, Dred Scott. When 
Fort Armstrong was evacuated in 1836, 
Scott went with his tnaster to Fort Snelling 
in Minnesota and there proceedings were 
commenced which cidminated in the Dred 
Scott decision by the Supreme C(jurt of the 
United States, one of the history making 
incidents of ante-bellum times. Dr. Emer- 
son afterwards made Davenport his home, 
erecting a handsome residence on East 
Second Street. There he died and was 
buried at an early cemetery, now the crossing 
of Sixth and LeClaire Streets. 

In 1S29, it is a matter of history that a 
number of slaves were held for a short time 
in Rock Island County on a farm just above 
Moline. Their owner, a southern man, 
brought them with him when he moved to 
this section. He brought his holding to the 
number of seventy-five e.xpecting to give 
them their freedom and ])lace them upon 
lands entered in this section, btit the 
colored peojile [ireferred to return to their 
"sunny" southern home, and were allowed 
to do so after experiencing the rigors of one 
northern winter. 



COUNTY COURT HOUSE. 



As attractive, perhaps, as any court house 
in the states and more remarkable in archi- 
tecture by far tiian many, is the handsome 
comity btiilding of Rock Island. Stately 
and inviting for business, this edifice stands 
a monimient to the progressive spirit of the 
people, who, keeping pace witli llie advance- 
ment of the times, ]mt it there. 

Way bftck in hS'iG a small btit well designed 
liuilding known as ".lohn Barrel's house," 



enclosed within its walls the first gathering 
of men to transact Rock Island County 
business. That house stood in Farnhaius- 
burg and besides being the first cotinty cotirt 
house, served as postoffice and hotel. 

The first jail was built in 1836 — then the 
city was the town of Stephenson. John W. 
Spencer in Octolier, 183,5, was awarded the 
contract to build this jail, which was orif;!- 
iially a hewed log building, two stories high 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



73 



and twenty-two feet square. The brick 
pcirtioii iif the .stnict\ire, afterward added, 
was built by Daniel Doty in 1S39. It stood 
on lot No. o in l.ilock No. l."> in the old town 
until it was sold tn a (lernian. who converted 
the brick portion into a residence. 

It was in this hnildinp; that the murderers 
of Colonel Daven])ort were coidined, and 
from which they were led forth to expiate 
their crimes upon the jjallows on the morning 
of Octolier 29th, 1,S4"). Birch and P.a.xter 
were also confined tliere; the former took a 
change of venue to \A'arren County where he 
broke jail and escaped. I'axler esca])ed the 
gallows on the grountls of having no willful 
intention to take the life of his henefaetor: 
for while he laid the plct fcu- the rdliKei-y of 
Colonel Daveni.iort 's hou,^(>, and |)launcd 
with the robliers to be ready to enter it on 
that memfiralile I'ourth of July, he did it, 
thinking that the house would be unoccu|.)ied. 
Rut in that lie was ilisapiwinted : all the 
fauiiU- had gone to tlie celcbr.-it inn e\ce|iting 
tlie colonel. When the robbers entered, 
they unexpectedly found him in the house 
and t(! make siu'e of escaping with their 
plunder, murdei'ed him. Baxter was sen- 
tenced to the penitentiary for life but was 
afterwards parolled c^n the promise that he 
would leave this part of the comitry. 

The present jail was built in 1S.")7 at an 
initial cost of $60,()n(). Additions of note 
have since been added. Until this date, 1S.57, 
the jail building contained besides the 
sheriff's office and residence, the <illices of 
circuit clerk, recorder, and the county 
clerk. 

A contact with .lonah II. Case lo furnish 
200,(100 bricks at eight chiUars a thousand, 
was the first step toward the erection of the 
then, new court house. That was in April, 
1.S.36. In June the contract for tlie building 
was let to Samuel Smith for SlO.oOO, to be 
completed l)eceml>er 1, 1.S37. The building, 
a square brick structure, was of two stories 
with a central cupola. It stood on the square 



reserved for that jjurjtose when t!ie town was 
map)3ed out and on the land of the present 
temple of justice. 

Immediately after the jail fii'o in 1NS2, the 
peo]5le began to agitate a new c(nu't house. 
In January 18S3, the lioard of siijjervisors 
decided to erect an oHice building of sufficient 
capacity for the offices of count \' judse, cir- 
cuit clerk, and county clerk; consecpiently, a 
contrtict was made with S. J. Collins for a 
one-stor^■ brick building, situate on the soutli- 
east corner of court iKuise square, at a cost 
of about ?1.3,000. the l)uilding being com- 
pleted dui'ing t he year. 

During the time of its construction, office 
room was obtained in the old couiM hcise, 
and improvised space in the jail building. 
As Rock Island County grew it was soon 
a])parent that extensi\-e imjirovements and 
additions to the cnurt luiusc wduld lie neces- 
sai-y. This rehabilitation would have cost 
the county so much money that it seemeii to 
the wise men (piite the wrong thing to do, 
but rather ajjpeal to the jieople to decide at 
the polls whether or not it was their desire 
to bear tl.e expense of a new autl modern 
building. Supervisor .Joseph Fitzpatrick of 
Milan championed the movement. He intro- 
duced a resolution at the Ajiril term, 1S93. 
calling for a committee to investigate the 
needs of the C(ninty and the probable cost 
of a new court house, to rejjort to the board 
at the July meeting, with recommendations 
as to the time and money necessary to erect 
such a court house as would compare with 
the wealth and progress of the (•(unity. 

This committee composed of Supervisor 
Joseph Fitz|xitrick, .\. l'\ X'inton. .lames (1. 
Britton and Conrad Schneiiler made a favor- 
able report and thought .5125, 000 would be 
about the right amount. 

An election was hekl Novemfier 6, 1S94, 
ami the proposition to issue bonds to the 
amomit of -¥125,000 was carried, by the 
following vote: For the proposition to issue 
bonds, 3,913; against proposition, 2,174; 



74 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



majority for said proposition, 1 ,739 Accord- 
ingly the contract was let, Charles J. T.arkin 
winning. Work on the foundation com- 
menced June 26, 1895, and October 1, 1896 
the corner stone was laid. The arrangements 
being in charge of the Old Settlers' Asso- 
ciation. 

The following men constituted the Court 
House Committee: Charles 1,. \\alker, chair- 
man: Phil Mitchell, Hon. William Jackson, 
Jt)hn Ohlweiler, T. S. Silvis. (deceased), Hon. 
Charles J. 8earle, H. P. Simpson, William 
McEniry, J. F. Hiiliinsou. (deceased), C. F. 
Lynde, S. J. Collins, S. S. Hull, Hon K. K. 
Parnienter, (deceased), W. P. (>viayle, (de- 
ceased) After the formal notice was made, 
the following crations were delivered by 
F.dward D. Sweeney. C. J. Searle and Judge 
J. .M. (lould at the laying of the corner stone 
of the new cotn-t house, October 1, 1.S9G. 



THE ORATIONS. 

(Orations printed in part.) 

Edward D. Swicenky. 
Mr. Chairman and Fellow Citizens: 

We celebrate ti>day the laying of the corner 
stone for the new court house, and the occa- 
sion is an event which awakens in us emotions 
of the deepest interest. While it is true that 
this vast assemblage of citizens are of divers 
nationalities, of varied political faiths, and 
of many religious beliefs, we all stand liefore 
this nuite block of granite as before the 
throne of the Eternal on e(|ual footing, no 
sjjccial i)rivilege of nobility or preference 
places one liefore the other. 

The significance of this great gathering is a 
trilnite of respect to the grand temple of jus- 
tice planned to rise frcun thi.s corner stone; 
and an acknowleilgement of homage to the 
fair (loddess of Justice, who, with sightless 
eyes and extended haiid under the law, holds 
the balances in which causes between man 
and man are weighed without ])artiality or 



favor, and determined. The law-abiding 
people of this great county as by one common 
impulse, from the various pursuits of life, the 
farmers from their fields, the merchants from 
their counters, the mechanics from their shops, 
the bankers from their desks, and the hum- 
blest toilers from their work, have come to 
witness the simple act of the laying of this 
stone. It must be that in this there is much 
that ought to challenge our thoughtful con- 
sideration and engage our earnest contempla- 
tion for the hour which we are permitted to 
spend together on this event. Itisthetraiisition 
moment from the old to the new; it is the 
passing of a great milestone in the career of 
oiu- (Miunty. More than fifty years of history 
is about to close its rectjrd today, and a new 
book presents itself in which we are to record 
events, yet in the Ijosom of the futtu-e; to he 
l)orn each day and each month in the coming 
years. The thought which occupies every- 
one here assembled must be in reference to 
the old court house, its associations of law- 
yers, and judges, of law suits, of law and its 
administration, and of officers — and this is 
my theme. 

The early beginnings of all comiuunities 
are rememljered with tlie greatest of interest 
and cherished in the fond recollections of 
those who have participated therein. The 
County of Rock Island was organized on the 
Sth day of July, 1833, it having been formerly 
a part of Jo Daviess County, and the first 
term of the circuit court was lield at the 
house of John Barrel, beginning on the '28th 
day (jf A])ril, 1834. This house stood on the 
banks of the Sylvan AVaters, just west of the 
Cable residence, and was chosen by the 
county commissioners as the tem])orary 
place of holding the court and the village was 
called Farnhamsburg. In this house was 
held the court until abandoned at the Sep- 
tember term, 1837; in all six terms of court. 
At each of these terms there was a grand jury 
selected and chosen, and in looking over the 
list of names which compose these grand 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



75 



juries, I find that Benjaiiiin (Joble, the old 
settler who lavs the CDnier stone today, was 
a grand juror at three of these terms. It is 
very evident that they in those days had as 
good an opinion of ^h\ Goble as we of the 
[)re-;ent day, while we think he is a little too 
old to do heavy mason work, yet. if eallerl 
u|ion, that he would he as williii,!;' to serve as 
a grand juror to punish wrong doers as he 
was in those early times. I also find tlie 
name of our \-enerahle and woi'thy friend, 
Michael Ilartzell, that he served two terms 
as a grand juror in vindicating the law in this 
new-forming conuuunity. 1 also lind that 
.John Tindall, the Nturdy and prosperous 
farmer of liowling Townsliip, and Charles 
Titterington. the leading farmer of I'-dgiiig- 
ton, the father of our jirescnt cDUiily 1 1'casurer 
each served a term as a !;i'aiid junii- in t!ie 
house of John liarrel: all of lliesi; four are 
now present on this glad day to witness the 
laying of the corner stone of the new cotu't 
house, which to them nuist he an e\'ent of 
more than usual interest. 1 also find that 
William Rell was a grand juroi' at the house 
of .John Harrel at the .\nril term. 1S,'}7. Tliis 
gentleman, who always to(.)k such an interest 
in the affairs of our county and City of Hock 
Island, and always had a i)leasant woi'd and 
smile for everybody, is absent in l:>o(.ly, but 
we know must be present in mind. He is 
li\ii!g with his daughter, llosa, at Toledo, 
Ohio, and in a ripe old age. 

This was the beginning of our long coiu't 
dockets of hundreds of cases and terms of 
coiu't dragging through tedious months, to 
which has been added the county court, now 
given common law jiu'isdiction with a civil 
and criminal docket, and with its long i)robate 
docket u]ion which are the estates and through 
which already has passed nearly all the titles 
to real estate within the limits of the county. 
The population of the county has grown from 
350 to about 45,000; at the time of the organi- 
zation there was one straggling \ill;ige on the 
site of the City of Rock Island and here and 



there a settler througliout the county. Now 
there are six incorpoi'ate townsand\'illages, full 
of activity and business, and two large com- 
mercial cities, teeming with industry, thrift 
and enterprise, growing in importance and 
nniltijilying in wealth; then the taxalile pro- 
perty of the county was a few hundred 
dollars, now it is over eight millions. For a 
few years there were only two terms of court 
in each year, but very soon the legislature 
gave this cinmty three terms of the circuit 
ctnu't, with a pi-obale couiM in session sub- 
stanti;ill\- all the year round. 

The number of ci-inmials whirh come 
before the courts of oni- county for correction 
are surprisingly sm;dl. few comities in the 
state send a less number to the ])eniteiitiary, 
schools, and the jails for punishment, in 
accordance with their population than the 
County of Rock Island. As exidence of how 
carefully the legal limits are oijserved among 
us stands forth the fact that in the affairs of 
om' county, transacted by our honorable 
l>oard of supervisors, every step of the way 
in which they jjroceed being regulated and 
detei-mineil l>y law, not a legal contest is 
raised or issue made concerning the new ccuu't 
house, the greatest building ever yet erected 
in the county, which is rising to is comple- 
tion and will be built from fotmdation to 
dome without the circuit c(nn-t having taken 
cognizance of it in any manner whatever 
except to hear the hammers of the workmen 
and to fimilly obey the summons to quarter 
itself in the magnificent court room; as grand 
as the old hall of William Rufus, the pride of 
England ft)r a thousand years; which is being 
provided for it in accordance with law, there 
to administer the law for the i)eople "with 
malice towards none and with charity for 
all". 

Among the names of those who have served 
tlieir clay and stamped upon the events of 
the times in which they li\eil. the im|)ress of 
their character and have gone to theii' reward, 
and are in your memories while I sjieak, are; 



76 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Joseph Knox, Ira O. Wilkinson. E. R. Bean, 
John B. H:n\ley, Alfred Webster. J. J. 
Beard.-Oey, Robert W. Smith and Patrick 
O'Mara. 

The oratory of Joseph Knox will always be 
remembered by those who have heard him. 
The im]n-ession tliat his oratory made upon 
my mind when a young- man, was that it was 
close akin to that of Demosthenes. History 
records that when the issue was l>efore the 
.Athenians whether they would submit to 
i'liillip of Macedon. or resist him with arms, 
that Demostlienes es]ioused the cause. of war; 
in this he was opposed by the accomplished 
orator. Aschines. When Aschines adilressed 
the people they would say. what wontlerful 
eloipience. what a great oi-ator; when Demos- 
thenes would speak they would leap and 
shout, "let us go and light Phillip." Mr. 
Kno.x was often greeted with similar responses. 
Judge Wilkinson was a slave to his profession; 
he never allowed his mind to be occupied by 
anything which would draw him away from 
the pure pursuit and practice of the law. He 
was for many years tlie mentor of our bar 
and no young lawyer struggling with legal 
(lifFiculties ever went to him but he received 
liini kindly and f\u-nished material hell) with- 
out claim of compensation. He did not lay 
down his work until the hand of disease 
arrested his powers, and like "Nicanor" he 
"lay dead in his harness." (leneral Hawley 
will be remembered as the impetuous, vigi- 
lant and aggressive advocate. He was like 
the jjlumcd knight of Ivry, always to the 
front in the thickest of the contest, pushing 
every advantage until victory crowned 
efforts. I'atrick O'Mara wa^ the silver- 
tcjngued orator of the bar, young, promising 
and brilliant; he was a shining mark for the 
shafts of death, which too soon claimed him 
for a prey. Time forbids further mention of 
the merits of the dead, but the best and the 
highest efforts of those who have gone and 
those who remain are to be found in the 
records of tlie courts, pul)lished in the 58 



volumes of the .\ppellate and in the 155 
volumes of the Supreme Coiu-t reports. It is 
in this work the real test comes of the law- 
yer's knowledge of the law and his merits as 
a lawyer, who has within his grasp and ccun- 
prehension the liighest elements of law. 

There have been nineteen different judges 
who have held court in our county. Rich- 
ard M. Young was the first judge who ever 
held court in our county. He came from 
Galena and was succeeded by Daniel Stone, 
wdio came from the same place. Sidney 
Breese held the second term. He afterwards 
became a meml)er of the supreme court and 
served a number of years; was elected to the 
I'nited States Seiiate where he served a term, 
after which he went to the sujireme bench 
again, where he remained until his death in 
187S. full of years, honors and goocl deeds. 
]:)enjamin R. Sheldon held the May teriii. 
1849; He afterwards went on the supreme 
bench, where he remained until his death, 
a good man and a strong judge. Thomas 
Ford held the April term of our court in 
1836; he afterwards became governor of the 
state and in his declining days wrote Ford's 
History of Illinois, the best yet written of 
the state. Of those who are not now in 
office, I know of only two who are living — 
the Honorable J. W. Drury, who was circuit 
judge from 1856 until 1859 or '60, and the 
Honorable .\rthur A. Smith, who first held 
court here in 1879 and resigned on account 
of ill health in (he fall of 1894. 

Thus far I have said nothing about the 
oflices of county judge and county clerk. 
The county clerk's office is the great work- 
shop of the county; in that office all the taxes 
are levied and extended, the judgment for 
tax sales entered and the record of the sales 
made and kept. In that oflice all the busi- 
ness done by the board of supervisors is 
written up and recorded; aside from this is 
the probate business of the county, which 
has grown to be of immense magnitude, 
and to which is added the records of the 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



77 



couiitv oourt, civil and criminal pniceediii.us; 
within the hist few yeai's has passed lhri)ii,a;h 
the county clerk's ullice the proceedings for 
the paving; assessments, which has hecn a 
stii])end()iis work in itself. 'I'o appreciate 
the volume of the work which is done in this 
office you musf be accpiainted with its \'ast- 
ness and its importance. I wduld he pleased 
on this occasion to speak of the men who 
have acted as conntv clei'ks, and who have 
l)een responsible for an<l so ably and faith- 
fully discharged their obligations, Imt time 
forbids any lengthv luitice. Of the ex- 
county clerks whu arc si ill with ns, .l(is(>|)li 
('(itiiM is the oMest. He will be remembored 
li\ all as long as we can remember atiyboily, 
as being the most accommodating, courteous 
and willing public servatit that ever served 
in the court house. The readiness to serve 
and aid anyone who had lousiness in his 
ollice came natural to him; what he did was 
disro!)ed of every semblance of affectation 
or effort. Mr. Conet was succeeded by Major 
Reardsley, who came into office in the latter 
jiart of the war and performed herculean 
labors in the interests of the widows and 
orphans of the soldiers who died or had 
fallen in battle ilnring the Rebellion, whom 
he e\er carried on his heart. The accounts 
kept in the book of remeiribrancc by Him, 
■'who neither slumbers or sleejjs" will show 
a great credit to the ma.)or's account for the 
disinterested and patriotic work of these 
vears. John \. Cook sncceede<l the major 
and his memory is embalmed in the hearts 
of all who knew him; he was succeeded by 
Mr. Donaldson, who.se efficiency and relia- 
bility were not excelled by any one. Colonel 
Hjalm.ar Kohler, the present iiu-umlient 
needs lui comniencla,tion from me, his work 
shows for itself and his manner and demeanor 
in oflice are sufficient to win for him the 
highest respect and regard. 

Of the e.\-i)robate justices and county 
judges there are only two living today, 
Captain T.J. Robinson, who acted as associate 



ju.stice. with .bilui \V. Spencer as jiuliie 
in 1S41). and J. M. 'loiild who t.-ikes part in 
the exercises of this occasiim, win. was counly 
judge in 1 S54 to 1S.")7. There Ir's been no 
miir(> responsible pn^iliou in ciui cnunly lli;iii 
that of looking after the trusts in the hand,-- (<f 
executors, administr.ators ;iud guardiau^, :i ud 
faithfull\ lia\-e llie-;e li'usi estate,-, liccn 
guarded and protected li\- our county jiidges. 
The present incumbeul, (he Ib'Uorable bucian 
Adams, has gi'owii gi-a\- in the sci'xice ol these 
trusts and no one has ever been allowed. \n 
sufTei' in his li:iuds. 

Three members '■{ ('on'O'ess !i:i\(' been se'it 
from iiur CoiinU'. Tl;i> llonoraMe John B. 
Hawley, the IloiKir.alile William H. (iesi and 
the Houoralile I'.eujai'hn Cable, ^^'e are 
indebted to these gentlemen foi- great services 
ill securing ap])ro])riat icuis for ihe National 
armorv on the Island. fni- the gi'oat bridge 
across the Mississijipi Ki\'er. the Moline 
dam. the \iaduct, the new go\ernnient build- 
ing now being erei'led, and Ihe Hennepin 
Canal.* 

The soldiers of Illinois were furemos! at 
Donaldson. Sliiloh. \'i(d<sl lurg. Chi(d<a mauga. 
Lookout Mountain and in Sherman's march 
to the sea. fleneral Sherm.an was their great 
leader in that famous march, but it is said if 
the olfl hero had f.allen by the way, the boys 
would have gone right on id the sea. The 
Illinois soldiers bi-oiighl liinne from the fields 
of the south three hundred b.attle flags taken 
from the enemy, and it was an Illinois flag 
that Hoated over the ad\'auce guard of the 
soldiers who first m,arclH^d into Richmond 
with President l/uic(iln at tlnai' he.ad, in 
.\pril, ISGf). .'Ml honor lo Ihe old soldiers 
and love and (diarity to all their kith and kin. 

Solomon's Temjile surpassed all former 
ones in its gloiw and grandeur, but in folluw- 
ing years there was erected a second temple, 
and the glory of the latter hmise exceeded 
the former. The days of the early pioneers 
were full of noble deeds, efforts and struggles, 
around which a halo of hert)ism lingers, while 



78 



HISTORIC ROC K I S L A N E CO U N T Y 



tlie names of the men and women who took 
part hi the stirring events of those days are 
held in tender rememljrance by their descend- 
ants and the people of tofhty- No state in 
the Union excels Illinois in the race of noble 
pioneers who wrought out of the broad 
un-tracked and untillerl i)rairies the beginnings 
of the greatest agricultural state of the 
Mississippi valley, and which laid the foun- 
dations of greatest and grandest common- 
wealth of the Union, and no county in 
all of the one h\mdred and two in the state 
can boast of a nobler band of early settlers 
than can our County. Tlie limit line of 
pioneer and old settlers' life is drawn at the 
year USoO and all time subsequent is counted 
ovit. Let due honor and credit be given to 
tiie early settlers and old pioneers and to all 
who have helped in the early efforts to lay 
the base of the institutions of which we are 
so proud today and to which we can point 
with becoming pride; but no mie will think of 
comparing what has been accomplished in 
the advancements of civilization since the 
dale of the limit with what has gone before. 
In ISoO the City of Rock Island had been 
organized only one year and was a mtmicipal 
infant, and .Moline, now the proud city of 
factories, schools and churches, was still a 
village, and ouside of these there was not an 
organized town or village in the comity; the 
iron horse had never sounded his sonorotis 
tones on the shores of the Father of Waters; 
the great plow factories of the Twin Cities 
were only in the prophecies of the dim future; 
the magnificent water works, now sending 
flowing water through every street and into 
every house, were unthonght of; paved 
streets, which have come to ns within the 
last eight years, and which make oiu' cities 
the rivals of tho.se in the old world of a cen- 
tury's growth, were not even in the dreams 
of the oldest inhabitant ; while every man 
was his own letter carrier, e.xpress messenger 
and "telephone girl." Never since the days 
when Adam and Eve went forth from the 



Garden of Eden, imsandaled and uncovered, 
was human nature so well clothed, so well 
fed, so well housed and surrounded with 
the conveniences and luxuries of life, as 
todaj'; we are all pleased to hear the old 
settlers talk of the "good old times," and 
never tire of hearing rehearsed the events of 
early pioneer life: but we who did not live 
in these "good old times" may be excused 
for speaking of the "good new times." 

Today the forces of the "good old times" 
and the forces of the "good new times" meet 
on this common platform to lay the corner 
stone of the new cotirt house and blend 
without rivalry in a united effort for the 
cotnmon weal. 

At the April term, A. D., 1S93, of the 
board of supervisors, F. M. Sinnet, Esq., 
was elected chairman, and in his address 
to the board, returning thanks for his election, 
among other things he said that the necessity 
existed for the erection of a new court house, 
and he believed that the times were propi- 
tious for its erectifin. During this session 
of the board, Joseph Fitzpatrick, Esq., 
then super\isor from Black Hawk, came 
to the othce of Sweeney i^- Walker and talked 
to the same effect, and Mr. C. L. Walker 
prefiared resolutions setting forth that the 
necessity existed for a new court house and 
that the times were propitious for the build- 
ing of the same. The resolutions were 
delivered to Mr. Fitzpatrick who introduced 
them in the board then in session and they 
were adopted. The resolutions, among other 
things, provided for the appointment of a 
committee to report on the feasibility of the 
project at the next meeting in July. 

In the meantime Charles J. 8earle, our 
young and vigorous state's attorney, with 
his accustomed zeal and enthusiasm, took 
hold of the work and put the report of the " 
committee in shape, which was presented at 
the next session of the board and adopted, 
and the cause of the new cotirt house was 
squarely before the people. The press, which 



HISTORIC ROCK I S L A N E COUNTY 



79 



has always been a great factor in the pushing 
forward of the welfare of the county in all 
channels, took hoM and advocated the enter- 
prise, the people with great unanimity 
seconded the move and the board of super- 
visors, pushed on until tlie building of the 
new court house Ijecame a fixetl fact. 

Messrs. Larkin and Collins and tlie Rock 
Island mechanics have conii>lefed a credit- 
able founilation — one strong enough to sus- 
tain the National Capitol — from which will 
rise a building worthy of our county and the 
times in which we live. 



Ch,\rles J. Searle. 

Mr. President, Citizens of Rock Island County , 
Ladies and Gentlemen: 

I feel highly flattered at being accorded the 
privilege of taking part in the important 
ceremony of laying the corner stone of y(uir 
new "Temple of .Justice," and while the 
nature of a statistical paper for permanent 
preservation, requires me to indulge in a 
greater use of statistics than is conducive to 
present any tempororj' interest, I have 
striven, in the very limited time I have had 
to bestow upon the task, to cull out of the 
records and traditions of the county such 
statistical information as in my opinion 
wotdd most interest those present, as well as 
future inhabitants of the county, to whose 
curious gaze the contents of this corner stone 
will be revealed, perhat)s a century frcmi now. 

My endeavor shall be to confine myself 
almost exclusively to matters o{ local interest, 
but no historical or other information con- 
cerning Rock Island County would be complete 
without takingsomewhat into consideration the 
history and growth of our country as a whole. 

The records of the world's history disclose 
the rise aiul fall of many ^reat and prosperous 
nations, but history never recorded such 
great, rapid, and, we hope, enduring, progress 
of a people as has been witnessed in the 
United States since its formation. Pre- 



eminent Iv a peaceful nation, our area has 
grown frnm .S27,S44 square miles in 17S9, to 
3.60,3.844 square miles in IS').'), and that too, 
mostlv bv peaceful conquest. Our popu- 
lation has gruwn from 3,'.)29,'214 in 1700. to 
62,622, 2.'iO in 1S90. Under the benign mflu- 
ence of the free institutions handed down to 
us bv our illustrious foi-efathers, frum a few 
scattered settlements, skirting along the 
.-Atlantic seaboard, we have developed uito 
a mighty nation. A tiaticm wluise institu- 
tions are not beyund impro\euie!it . but in the 
main, filled with a happv. prospermis people. 
A nation of inestimaljlc wealtli. .\ highly 
civilized nation, filled with churches, schools 
and libraries. .\ natimi making imprece- 
<lented strides in indu-<try. art, science and 
eiiucation. .\ n:ition that is indeed the "land 
of the free ami the homo of the bra\'e." .V 
nation of tlie utmosi possiliilit ics of resources 
and development, and destined, 1 hope, to 
be durina: all time, the greatest, grandest 
nation the woi'ld e\ei' saw. 

Illinois, our l:)elo\ed sl;ile, taking its name 
fnun the Indian word, "Illini," signifying 
"Superior Men," has. in the short space of 
seventy-seven years, from its admission in 
1818, grown to be a mighty empire of 
3,826,351 people. The \-ii-gin soil of her 
wonderful prairi(>s, the wealth of her jirime- 
val forests and the hidden treasures of her 
mines, have ma.de her the gem of that great 
galaxy of states known as (he "tireat North- 
west," which has no ecpial in fertility, re- 
sources and possibilities of dexeloiuuent on 
the face of the earth. 

(ireat as our National and State develop- 
ment have been. Rock Island County has 
kept pace with our co;>.unon rmuitry; and 
that, too, notwithstanding the fact that we 
came so comparati\'ely late in the order of 
settlement. Marquette and .loliet were likely 
the first white persons to set eyes on the then 
wild, beautiful and romantic scenery of Rock 
Island County, at that time the home of the 
Indian and the buffalo, in the year 1673. The 



80 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



first white settler was Colonel George Daven- 
port, who located, with his familj', on the 
beautiful island in the Mississippi River 
between here and Davenport in 1816, a time 
within the memory of quite a number of the 
grand old patriarchs within the sound of my 
voice. Little did the unbroken wilderness 
svoTounding that solitary habitation, distant 
hundreds of miles from any other, forbode the 
marvelous development that has taken place 
here since its erection. The first house 
erecled on the main shore of our county was 
by Colonel Cieorge Daxcnport and Russell 
Karidiam, in the eastern ].'art of our present 
city. The first white chihl born in this 
vicinity was George Davenport, in ],S17. The 
first lands that were entered were entered 
October 19, 1829, by Colonel fJeorge Daven- 
port and Russell Farnhani, the governn;ent 
land office then being at (ialena, Illinois. The 
first marriage was that of James L. Burtis to 
Angelinc Beardsley, in 1833. In 18()o for 
the first time the flag of the l^nion proudly 
waved over Rock Island County's present 
domain, is beautiful field of blue then only 
contained a constellation of seventeen stars 
instead of forty-five, as now. 

The early settlement was slow, for, while 
nature was kind and presented few obstacles 
to settlement, the savage and treacherous 
Indian did. It required the Black Hawk 
War of 1832, that had for battle ground the 
beautiful prairies and unbroken forests of 
Rock Island Cotmty, to drive the able and 
revengeful Black Hawk and his tribe beyond 
the Mississippi, to make way for the advanc- 
ing tide of settlement and civilization. 

It was not till 1833, that the inhabitants 
had increased sufficiently to justify the legis- 
lative act of that year, providing for the 
organization of the county, and even then 
the total vote of the county was only sixty- 
five. The first seat of justice was established 
in the same year, at .John liarrel's house, in 
what was then called I'^arnhamsburg, now a 
part of the City of Rock Island. In 183.5 



the seat of justice was changed by com- 
missioners appointed by an act of the legis- 
lature, to the present site, in what was then 
called the town of Stephenson. Richard 
M. "^'oung was the first judge to preside over 
the circuit court, Joseph Conway was the 
clerk, Benjamin F. Pike, sheriff; Thomas 
Ford, state's attorney, and Joel Wells the 
foreman of the grand jury. Lists of the 
jurors, witnesses and parties to sviits, dis- 
close the names of the ancestors of a great 
many of oiu' present citizens, many of whom 
are ]irominentl\ known, but which my 
limited time will not permit me to give. The 
circuit then including Rock Island County 
was known as the Fifth Judicial Circuit, and 
inchnled the counties of Cook, LaSalle, Put- 
nam, Peoria, Fulton, Schuyler, Adams, Han- 
cock, McDonough, Knox, Warren, Jo Daviess, 
Mercer and Henry. The first attorneys at 
the bar were Ford, Turney, Smith, Maxwell, 
Strode, Walker and Mills; these were soon 
followed by such well remembered characters 
as Knox, Drurv and Wilkinson. The first 
hotel, tavern as they were then called, was 
opened in 1S33, belonging to Jonah H. Case, 
whose family has ever since been prominent 
in the county. Private schools were opened 
at an early date, and free schools were estab- 
lished in IH^Q. The first church (Methodist 
Episcopal) was built in 1844; the first library 
opened in 18.5.5, and the first newspa]ier, the 
Rock Island Banner and Stephenson Gazette 
was started in 1839. 

The City of Rock Island, including the 
towns of Stephenson and Farnhamsburg, 
and outlying additions, was organized in 
1841. What was known as "Rock Island 
Mills" was in 1843 organized into the beau- 
tiful City of Moline, "the city of mills." 
Camden, afterwards "Camden Mills" and 
now Milan, was laid out in 1843; Port Byron, 
in 1S36; Cordova, in 1837; Hampton, in 
1834; Rapid City, in 1833; (\)al Valley, in 
1850; Andalusia, in 1859; Edgington, in 
1843, and Reynolds, in 1876. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



81 



Tlie afssesseil valiiatum (if the cininly in 
1833, immeiliatcly after its (irKanizatidii was 
so low that the taxes collected only ;ini()unto(l 
to the sum of 153.723^, so that it can lie 
readily seen that the county's affairs did not 
permit any great tlefalcations on the part of 
the county officials. The populati<ni nf the 
comity in 1840, at the time of the first census, 
was 2.610 souls. 

Hut few in numliers, and poor thouijh they 
then were, the jieople of the county in 1835, 
with commendalile public spirit and ambi- 
tion, and with a realization of the futui'c needs 
of the covuity, resolvetl to l.iuild a court house. 
They let the contract for $10, .500, furnishing 
the brick themselves at a cost of $1,600, 
making a total cost of $12,100 at the time 
of the acceptance of the completed building 
in 1838. Humble as it now seems, it was 
then a grand structure, one of the finest 
buildings in the state, and was the pride of the 
city and county for years. Its erection had 
entailed an exjienditure of perhajis not less 
than $10 for e\-ery man. woman and child 
in the coimty, which in view of the poverty 
of the pe()])le and the scarcity of money then 
in circulation, was indeed an evidence of the 
greatest public spirit; an amount of money 
harder to raise then than -SI, 000.000 would 
be now by the peo]ile of this comity. Could 
the walls of the old building relate the scenes 
they have witnessed, what a story they could 
tell. From it have issued more than 17,000 
official licenses, authorizing the solemn. Clod 
ordained rites of matrimony; and there we 
find the sad record of thousands of tleaths; 
records of joy and hapiiiness on the one hantl, 
and of grief and sorrow on the other. There 
are recorded the story of elections, the history 
of the rise and fall of many an ambition. 
There are preserved the evidences of tlie 
titles of the people to their homes and their 
belongings: the administration of the estate 
of departed loved ones; the financial records 
of the county; the enlistment of the heroic 
volunteer for the preservation of our National 



life, and his hdncirabh^ dischargo; in tlie record 
of the 11,697 civil causes that have been 
recorded on the dockets of the circuit court, 
we liave a record of conquest and defeat, 
justice and injustice, poverty and wealth, 
anxiety and exultation, hope and fear. The 
criminal records, disclosing 4, .5.54 cases, tell 
us a tale of injustice, hate, malice, revenge, 
crime in all its hideous forms, from the most 
trivial offenses, to robbery, ra]ie and munler. 
If its walls would reverlierate the echoes it 
has heard and flash u]ion our vision the sights 
it has seen, what sights we would indeed 
behold, what sounds we would hear! We 
would see every ]ihase of human character, 
good and bad. We would witness the play 
of every emotion of the human mind and 
heart. We would see the joyous, hopeful 
briile. the grief stricken mother; we would 
see the anxious, uiilifted faces of litigants as 
they scrutinized the jury, or waited with 
bated breath for the decision of the judge; 
we would hear the exultant, victorious laugh 
of the victor, and the heart-broken sobs of 
the convicted criminal, his relatives and 
friends; we would see many a fierce combat 
between giants at the bar; we would be 
startled at their audacity; we would wonder 
at their disjilay of earnestness and passion; 
we would be thrilled by their elorpience as 
they pleaded for the ]iroperty, liberty and 
lives of their clients; we would anxiously 
await the verdict of the jury; and at last we 
would listen to the solemn sentence of the 
upright judge. Hut the old building has long 
been inadecjuate. 

From a population of 2.(il0 in 1840 we now 
number nearly 50,000 souls. Instead of two 
marriages on record as in 1833, last year we 
had 390. To keep abreast of the times and 
to meet the demantls of the county, the people 
have elected to build this fine building. 

On the 20th day of .June, 1895, the contract 
for its construction was let for $112,201. 
According to the contract, it is to be fully 
completed by November 1, 1896. From all 



82 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



indications, it will be a grand and stately 
structure, an ornament, and the ])ride of the 
count}- for generations to come, and com- 
mensurate with the needs and demands of the 
county. It will perhaps remain the seat of 
justice of the county for a century. In it 
will be repeated, only on a large scale and in 
a more multifarious form, the history of the 
old court house. In it the county's affairs 
will be hereafter conducted, justice will be 
administered, rights secured, guilt punished, 
innocence viiulicated; the constitutional rights 
of life, liberty and the pursuits of ha|)piness 
conserved. The time is not far distant when 
court will have to be held throughout the 
year; yes, when the court will have to be 
held in sections, for this com't house will 
still be in use when this county will have a 
population of 1.50.000 people or more. 

Well may the ])cople of Rock Island County 
antici])ate the era of wonderful increase of 
population, wealth and progress we are just 
now fairly entering upon, by the erection 
of this grantl buikling; for second to none in 
natural resources, industry and thrift, we 
will be in the van of enterprise and progress. 

J. M. GdULD. 

Mr. Chairman, Fric7ids and Fillon^ Citizens; 

Having been informeil that the board of 
su])ervisors had recjuested that the ceremony 
and laying of the corner stone of the new 
court house should be by the Old Settlers' 
Association of the county, and that I had 
been requested 1o make some remarks upon 
the occasion, I deem it will l)e ])ro]5er to do 
so in a, sort of historical line, and will say that 
1 \\\\\ not trespass upon your time with a long 
harangu(>. 

This county was in early times a part of 
the present County of Pike, which e.xtended 
north to the state line; afterwards embraced 
in what is now Jo Daviess County. The 
first court in this county was held in a log 
house, as I am informed, located neai- where 



the residence of Hon. Benjamin T. Cable 
stands, the town being named Stejihenson, 
On the 18th day of Noveml)er, 1S48, I 
arrived in the village of Jloline, to become 
a resident of the county, being a nieml)er of 
tlic firm of Deere, Tate & Gould, for manu- 
facturing farming implements, Messrs. Deere 
tt Tate being the practical members. My 
department was the financial. I ()])ened and 
kept the first set of account l)ooks, by double 
entry, in the county, learning at the time 
that the system was not used in Scott County, 
Iowa. We did not have any banking facili- 
ties in either of the three towns. Cook & 
Sargent, of Davenport, occasionally, could 
sell us l)ills of exchange upon St. Louis, and 
sometimes New York, but not often upon the 
latter named city. Our business away from 
here was generally with St. Louis, as our 
only transportation facilities, except by 
wagon to Chicago, w'ere by the river. Our 
remittances were usually made in the season 
of navigation by the captains or clerks of the 
steamboats. There were no regular paydays 
for our employes, and we seldom jiaid much 
money to them, except upon final settlement, 
when they were either discharged or resigned. 
We gave orders upon merchants with whom 
we could arrange for credit, in the three towns 
for such goods as were needed, and usually 
boarded our single men with parties whom 
we could supply, in our dealings with farmers, 
such articles as they could use, namely: 
vegetables, meat, fuel, etc. We had a daily 
mail coach to and from Chicago and St. Louis, 
which, in the winter, was the only means of 
public communication with other towns. 
Letters for Chicago and St. Louis were sent 
by stage, which followed the river to Albany, 
then via Union Grove, now Morrison, Dixon 
and thence for St. Louis via Peoria and zig- 
zag to destination, requiring from fi\-e to 
seven days to get replies to their letters sent 
to St. T>ouis, and four or five days to Chicago. 
At that time, and until alrout 1850 to 1853, 
there were four saw mills, one grist and one 



HISTORIC ROC K I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



83 



ineri'liaiit lldiiriii^ mill, diic l'iiuii(lr\' ami 
luacliiiie sho]3, and one w iMMlciiwarc facturv 
in .Mciline; one boat yard and iiiai-iiic ways, 
and line saw mill in Rock Island. 1 ia\cn]Hirl 
had nil manufactnring industry, 1 lliiiik. unlii 
about 1854. Previous to 1849 tlu' rounly 
business in every county in the state was 
transacted by a board of county commission- 
ers composed of three members, and on 
account of the prevailin.i; custom of not- ])i'o- 
viding by a proper assessment of taxation to 
pay claims against this county the warrants 
were from 10 to 45 and 50 per cent lielnw par; 
the iliscount being based upon the pruxiniity 
to, or from the time, they could be used in 
]iaynient of taxes, and 1 think that e\'ery 
other covnitjf's finances w(>re about in the 
same concUtion. 

At one session, the records of which I saw, 
and probably the same was true of others of 
the board, claims were allowed merchants 
for supplies for paupers and for other pur- 
poses, Probabh' claimants iu uiaking prices 
for such supplies, included a high profit, 
knowing warrants would be issued upon a 
treasury that had no funds, and in addition 
persuaded the lioard to add one liundi'ed jier 
cent to the claim, and then inserted these 
words: "Doulile for depreciation of comity 
orders, and a warrant for twice the sum 
issued." I'nder tlie re\-iseil constitution of 
1848, the law abolishing the county commis- 
sioners' court, and creating what was termed 
a county court in 1849, with one county 
judge and two associate justices of the peace, 
was enacted. At the first election under 
the new law, John W. Spencer was first judge, 
and Thomas J. Robinson and .lames Weaver- 
ling associates, were elected ; the three persons, 
at regular quarterly sessicnis of the board 
in December, March, June and vSeptember in 
each year, and at as many s'pecia! sessions as 
were necessary, attendeil to all the county 
business, the same as is now transacted by 
our board of siipervisors; the ])roljate matters 
were adjudicated by the county judge at 



twehe sessions, upon the tliiid .Monda\- at 
each quarter, and llie first .Monilay of the 
other eight months, holding each session as 
long as circumstances i-ci|uii(>d and special 
sessions if needed; the fees were $2.50 each 
per day for actual time spent for the county. 
Judge Spencer resigned at the end of three 
years, and William liailey was elected to 
serve the remainder of the term, In Nov- 
ember, 1853, I was elected county judge, 
(leorge E. Holmes, of Port I5yron, and .lohn 
Kistler, of Buffalo Prairie, were my associates 
— two gentlemen several years my seniors. 
We ai'cepted the offices and qualified. I 
think it was at our first session for business — 
if not the first it «'as not later than the 
second — wliich was in the southwest corner 
room of the present court house, then occu- 
pied by the county clerk, and, I tliink, was 
the sheriff's quarters also. The next room 
north was the county ass(>ssor's and treas- 
urer's office; the southeast corner room, 
which was one-haH' of the present super. 
visiu''s room, was oci'upied by the circuit 
clerk and ex-ollicio recorder, who was Major 
Frazier Wilson; the next room north, upon 
the east side, was rented In (h'oi-^e W. Pleas- 
ants (now Judge Pleasants) and Henderson, 
lawyers. We <lisco\-ered that the recorils of 
the county were in a \er\- unsafe condition 
respecting the risk of fire, all being in 
woollen cases in the rooms nanieil, anil 
concluded that the matter was of so much 
importance that a building must be erected 
which would be nearly fireproof, and having 
only a very poor substitute of a jail, 
would combine the two departments imder 
one roof. We had no mone\' and county 
warrants were so much below par that it 
was utterly impossible to use them, and the 
only course to pm'siie was to get a special 
law passed, whicli coulil lie done at that 
period, pernntting the issue of bonds for 
$20,000 wliich we succeeded in accomplishing 
and sold them at par as they bore interest 
at ten per cent. We procured the erection 



84 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



of the present jail with several offices. Now 
we have come to our court house beautiful, 
or at least the foundation. 

THE COMPLETED XEW COURT HOUSE OF 1897. 

A detailed description of the exterior of 
the new court house does not seem necessar}-; 
it .stands out with such grandeur. A typical 
temple of justice. The finely proportioned 
dome, the four turrets, and two pavilions, 
most materially add to the structure. Its 
dimensions are one hundred and fifty feet 
long, fifty feet wide, with extended pavil- 
ions and turrets on the two sides. The 
main structure is sixty feet high, the central 
dome towering to a height of one hundred and 
fifty feet. The magnificent, strong and 
stable presentation of the interior, including 
the marble work, wood work, painting, tile 
flooring, bronze, iron, fresco and other orna- 
mental work, harmonize; all reflecting great 
credit on the architects, Gunn and Curtis; 
Charles J. Larkin, the contractor, and Stephen 
J. Collins, superintendent. 

In the basement is the engine room, fans, 
steam pi^es, engineer's work room, and store 
room for old time files and records. The 
boiler room is in a separate brick building 
in the rear of the jail building, a tunnel 
running from the boiler room, to the engine 
room of the court house. On the first floor 
are grouped the offices of the sheriff, the 
master in chancery, the coroner, the janitor, 
the county superintendent of schools, ladies' 
waiting room, the county surveyor, public 
and ladies' lavatories, and waiting rooms. 
Broad stairways lead to the upper floors, 
also a good elevator. 

On the second floor are the offices of county 
judge, circuit clerk, county clerk, coimty 
treasurer, also county court room and super- 
visors' room. The circuit and county clerks' 
offices have large, well lighted, roomy vaults 
adjoining, fitted with metallic furnishings. 

On the third floor circuit com-t room, 
judge's private room, court stenographer's 



rooms, court library room, clerk of the 
court room, rooms for state's attorney 
(private and reception"), jury rooms, and 
witness rooms. On the fourth floor is the 
Memorial Hall designed for the Grand Army 
of the Republic members, and other loyal 
societies. The furnishings throughout all 
the offices are exceedingly rich, tasty, and 
suljstantial. 

The following material was used in its 
construction: Over 2,000 perch of LeClaire 
stone was used in the foundation, which is 
laid on rock foundation, with one foot of rock 
concrete on the bottom to fill holes and level 
off. The base or water table is of Carthage, 
Mo., granite; the die and sill course of dressed 
blue Bedford stone. The first and second 
stories of rock-faced buff Bedford stone and 
the two upper stories of- sand-rubbed buff 
Bedford. Eighteen thousand cubic feet of 
stone was used above the foundations; 360 
tons of iron beams in the buildings, 120 tons 
of steel was used in the construction of the 
tower, and about eighty tons of steel was 
used in the ornamental work. One million 
six hundred thousand hard brick was pur- 
chased and used in the structure; eighty 
tons of copper for cornices and roofing; 
40,000 square feet fire proofing for arches; 
15,000 square feet of plain plastering, f)esides 
a large amount of ornamental stucco work; 
30,000 feet of maple flooring, together with 
11,000 square feet Mosiac flooring; 7,500 feet 
Tennessee marble wainscoting. 

The floors contain 2,250,000 pieces of 
marble. Four nations contribute to the 
floor; black marble from Belgium, red from 
France, white from Italy, and pink from 
Tennessee. 

The board of supervisors, through their 
Inroad and liberal spirit, together with the 
strenuous and faithful efforts of the citizens' 
committee brought about the result of giving 
the county the handsome building we have. 
The dedication ceremonies occurred March 
31, 1807, and were unusually prominent, the 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



85 



new court house being ojiened for iiis])ectii)n, 
the circuit court in session in the old court 
house, adjoiu-ning to the new court house for 
the iledication ceremonies, and occu])ancy 
by the court, and the presentation by the 
chairman of the Ijoard of su]iervisors of the 
keys of the new building to the sheriff of tlie 
county. 

The following addresses were made by 
William Jackson and t'harles I^. Walker, 
the sentiment of which toward the bench and 
the bar were exceptionally comi)linientary. 

Addre.ss by Hon. William .J. .Fackson. 
May it please the Court: 

I desire to make a motion for the a<ljourn- 
ment of this court, but jjreliminary thereto 
I wish to say a few w'ords, which I hope may- 
be deemed appropriate to this occasion and 
the circumstances under which this court is 
now in session. 

This day is an interesting one to the mem- 
bers of this bar and the people of this county. 
We have just withdrawn forever from a 
forum that for more than sixty years has 
stood in the midst of the people, as the 
visible place or temple where the law has 
been administered, under which the people 
have lived, and under its benign and protect- 
ing influence, have prospered. It has been 
sacred to the people, because therein the 
sovereignity of the law was asserted, a sov- 
ereignty that assumed the form of organized 
law, which has always commanded, and still 
commands, the fealty and respect of the 
citizens of Rock Island County. 

In this beatuiful edifice in which we are 
now assembled, we are to continue the admin- 
istration of public justice, to decide under 
the forms of law and in a spirit of impartiality, 
so far as it can be done by human agencies, 
the claims of contending litigants, and to 
preserve, protect, and maintain the rights 
of the state, and the individual rights and 
interests of the people, collectively and 
respectively. 



Almost sixty-four years have passed since 
the first session of this circuit court, which, 
on the 2Sth day of A]iril, 1S34, was held at 
the plain and unpretentious log and frame 
house of John Barrel, in the eastern part of 
this city. Judge Richard M. Young presiding. 
The machinery of justice, thus set in motion, 
was started under very humble circumstances. 
The house of John Barrel contained no 
paneled ceilings, frescoed walls, or marble 
wainscoting. There was harmony and uni- 
formity of design, finish and color, both in 
the interior and exteriiu', yet it was more in 
keeping with nature, than art; yet the decrees 
of that court, from that plain forum, were 
recognized and regarded by the ]ieople, the 
])ushing, hardy, tolerant and hopeful pioneers 
of that day, who had pushed ahead into this 
country, then the far west, to found for 
themselves and the generations to come 
after them, a local government. 

The architectural style, beauty and finish 
of this edifice esjiecially interests the members 
of this bar. The years of the i)ast have come 
and gone; the administration of the law and 
the business of the courts has not been done 
in marble halls, yet it has been well done. 
At no time have the pecjjjle considered it 
necessary to assume or take the administra- 
tion of the law out of the regular channels; 
they have always entrusted it to the direction 
of the lawfully constituted authorities. 

There is not, at this bar today, a lawyer 
that connects us with the beginning of our 
judicial existence, but few links, however, 
intervene between this assemblage today 
and the very beginning. This, how-ver, 
can only be said of the lawyers. We have 
with us today in this room, citizens of ad- 
vanced years, who were active citizens of 
this county in the years of the beginning; 
who helped to lay, firm and deep, the founda- 
tion of law and order in this county, and who 
can, and do, today, rejoice that the work was 
so well done and has been so well maintained. 
To emphasize this present thought, we would 



86 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



pray that in the conduct and heart of the 
future people of this county, there shall 
dwell that sense of the dignity and supremacy 
of the law that so signally characterized the 
fathers. 

The log house of John Barrel was soon 
superseded by the brick court house, to which 
we have this day bidden adieu, and while we 
contenijjlate the grandeur of the present 
edifice, and consider the burden, voluntarily 
imposed by the jieople to provide for its 
construction, we must not forget that the 
pioneers of this county, according to their 
numbers and alnlity, assumed an ecpial 
burden to provide the court h(uise tiiat we 
have just abandoned, which, in the day of 
its completion, was the ])ride of this part of 
the northwest. 

The construction of this court house in 
which we are now met, is not the result of a 
j.irotracted effort, first suggested in the Ijoaril 
of supervisors in April, lSfl.3, by Supervisor 
Joseph Fitzpatrick, the means to erect pro- 
\'ided bj' the people, liy vote in 1S94, the 
foundation stone laid in October, ],S9.t; 
and completed for dedication in March, 
1897. 

The necessity for a new court of justice was 
promptly recognizefl by the honorable board 
of supervisors, although the building of a new 
structure involved increased taxation, and 
added to existing burdens, yet the people of 
this county, l.iy their \-otcs, declared that the 
time had come when the character and dignity 
of the county, in connection with its execu- 
tive and judicial departments, demanded a 
temjjle of justice that would truly represent 
the progress, culture and improved artistic 
taste of the ))resent. The people decreed; 
it has been done. 

We look arouixl, and beyond, and behold 
this edifice, beautiful in design, synunetrical 
in proportion: in its archilectm-e the designer 
lives, and will continue to live to tell the 
(Jiiloiiker liow, in his brain, there was planted 
tliat (piality of ai1 ;ind artistic .-iiiiirccial inn 



of form, color, quality and proportion, that 
could conceive and plan this building, about 
which there can be ordy one exjiression, 
" How beautiful ! " 

Not only does the building display the 
skill and artistic talent of the designer, but 
also the skill of the more hmnl)le craftsman, 
who, by cunning manipulation, meclianical 
conception and execution could, and has, 
so worthily and successfully fashioned and 
built that which the artist in beauty designed. 

This coiu't house stands as a monument 
to the good taste, broad and liberal spirit of 
the board of supervisors of this county, who, 
notwithstanding many adverse and discour- 
aging criticisms, yet, believing that the 
jieople of Rock Island County were worthy 
of a structure that should rejiresent the 
intelligence and energy of the people, had 
the courage and determination to liuild this 
building. For the p\ish, energy and official 
integrity that has brought the work to so 
successful a termination, we will today 
award to the board of supervisors that ■> 
measm'e of credit, recognition and praise 
that is their due. 

We should not, at this time, when speaking 
of the means and forces that insured the 
successful completion of the court house, 
forget the faithful contractor, and the super- 
intendent, who have so well performed their 
labors, and won for themselves the recogni- 
tion of their fellow citizens, who will award 
to them the credit of having performed 
their work with sigm^l ability and merited 
tribute of jiraise. 

The board of supervisors have ordered that 
on the 31st day of March, 1897, the ])eople 
shotdd be invited into this ind.)lic edifice, to 
cordially and (piietly enjoy and contemplate 
this ]niblic enterjjrise so auspiciously com- 
))leted; hence we are now surrounded with a 
busy, earnest throng of citizens, who are 
this day, with music attending, treading the 
bi'oad aisles of this court house, enjoying 
the delight of its beauty, ;ind expressing by 



^ 



HISTORIC RUCK I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



87 



their attendance their interest in the work 
that was so worthily conceived, and ha.s been 
so successfully completed. 

And now, in the jiresence of this court and 
the people, what shall lie further said on this 
occasion? We have built this house, doomed 
and ciipaliied, ]iriiiripally with imn, stone 
and marble, not onl\- because we wanted 
to build, Init to build with siu'h form and 
grace that it should stand in the midst of the 
l)eople as a public recognition of the su])rem- 
acy and majesty of the law; the law, not as a 
sliiftint!; ami uncertain influence to be chaiifieil 
by the casting of a die, but a controllinf!; moral 
and jiolitical force, that stands guard by day 
and by night, shielding and protecting all 
classes alike; not only the house of luxury 
and refinement, but an all powerful influence 
encircling and protecting the cabin of the 
poor; a law so potent that it tempers the 
power of the executive, as well as the will of 
the people; the limitations of the law being 
its safety, its atlaptation to all Ijeing its 
strength and beauty. The majesty of its 
influence was well illustrated in the celebrated 
s]ieech of Earl Chatham, in the liritish 
Parliament, "The poorest man in his c'ottage 
may bid defiance to all the forces of the 
Crown; it may be frail, its roof may shake, 
the storm may enter it, but the King of Eng- 
land cannot enter it,-- all his jiower dares 
not cross the threshold of that ruined tene- 
ment." 

When the citizen surveys this imblic 
structure, he can not only enjoy the grandeur 
of its appearance, but the mental fact that 
it is the monument of a free jieople, guided 
and insjHred by wise and just laws, and 
intent u]3on the enfcu'cement of them; laws 
to be obeyed until repealed; and if, in the 
course of time, experience demamls a change 
to meet new conditions, then shall the change 
be made, not by wilful disregard of existing 
enactments, Ijut by legal and constitutional 
methods, for only by such methods, and 
under such conditions, shall the "go\ern- 



ment of the jieople, by the people, and for 
the people," survive, and not jierish from 
the earth. 

I am loath to close my remarks without a 
few words to my associates at this bar. 

The sixty-four years of the judicial life of 
this court is behind us. Many of us ])assed 
the summit; what we have d(uie, or left 
undone, the world knows. The jiersonal 
and mental characteristics that have marked 
our lives and actions during the years of the 
past will ])rol)alily remain unchanged to the 
end. If our li\'es haxc not been well rounded 
out by u]iright condiu.'t and moral force, the 
fault has been with ourselves. Hapjiy for 
us if our ]iersonal characters lun-eso imiiressed 
our fellows that they are willing to concede 
that our lives have l.ieeii well spent. 

But there are at this bar, at this time more 
than at an\' former period of its history, 
many young men of varied talents, who will 
be the leaders of the future. It is an inter- 
esting and important (piestion to ask what 
will be their position in this C(nirt, anil what 
estimate their fellow citizens will place upon 
them. Will they come and plead at this bar 
oidy for ]iersonal glory, that men may jiraise 
their ingenuity and skill as lawyers? Will 
they simply estimate their jiersonal impor- 
tance by their gains, without reference to 
the means and instrumentalities used to 
command these gains, or will the lawyers of 
the future at this bar be men whose highest 
aim shall be so to discharge the \'aried and 
exacting duties of the ])rofession, and their 
personal duties to their fellow jjractitioners, 
that inquiry will not be necessarj' to find 
out to what plane of jiublic estimation they 
have attained, — but the constant, truthful, 
kind and even tencu' of their jirofessional 
conduct shall lead men to a ]irompt, instant 
and cordial recognition of their personal 
worth. I hope this may be the standard of 
the lawyers of this county. 

A word to the judges of this court. I speak 
after an experience of thirty-si.x years; during 



88 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



those years I have had the honor to appear 
before all the judges that have presided in 
the circuit and county courts. Considering 
the arduous and delicate duties that a judge 
has to perform, restraining the impetuous 
lawyer, client or witness, instructing and 
encoTU-aging the timid and independent, decid- 
ing delicate and intricate legal cjuestions, 
affirmed l)y positi\-e counsel and cpiestioned 
by others equally posit i\o: and yet, so 
deciding the questions iinohed that the 
decision shall carry with it tlie respect of all, — 
duties of this kind would appear to be so 
difficult that complaint would seem to be the 
rule; yet this bar, and the peo])Ie of thig 
county have a right, and it is their duty to 
accord to the judges now living and to the 
memory of those departed, that the work 
of the judiciar\' has been well and faithfully 
done; and the kindly and earnest exjiression 
of good feeling of the lawyers of this county 
towards the judges is a just and proper 
tribute to the bench of the courts of this 
county. If, in the future, another court 
house shall supplant tlie beautiful one in 
which we are now gathered, and it is then 
said about the judiciary, as it can now be 
said, that the bench has been an inspriation 
and kindly assistance to the bar, the years 
of the futiu-e in that regard will be years 
of pleasant association and reci]»rocated 
kindnesses. 

And now, if the court ])lease, in view of the 
public interest now manifested in this court 
house dedication, and to enable the judges, 
lawyers and officers of this court to join with 
their fellow citizens in this gathering of the 
people, 1 move that this court do now ailjourn. 

C. L. Walker's Adukkss. 
May it pleane your Ilonora : 

My name is not merit ioncd in the program, 
nor is the subject vvliich 1 wish to submit to 
your honors referred to therein. Vet as the 
matter is germaine to the proceedngs of the 
day, I ha\-e Ijccn rcciucsled b\- the committee 



in charge of the exercises to address your 
honors thereon, and I therefore beg a mo- 
ment's indulgence before your honors shall 
pass upon the motion to adjourn. 

Thereupon His Honor Judge J. Glenn, 
presiding, granted the request. 

What I shall say will be on behalf of the 
citizens' court house committee of Rock 
Island and I have been requested first to 
give the history of its organization and of 
the work of this committee. 

Prior to October, 1894, the court house 
project seemed to be regarded favorably by 
the ])eople, but about this time an under- 
current of op])osition developed and a series 
of articles ajjpeared in some of the papers 
outside of this city, urging the voters to 
vote against the building of a new court 
house, and the issuing of the $125,000 of 
bonds, both on account of the increased 
taxation and because the time was inop- 
portune. 

Owing to these conditions it seemed 
necessary that some systematic and united 
efforts be put forth to overcome these objec- 
tions and to stimulate an active sentiment 
in fa\'or of the project. 

To this end some of those in favor of build- 
ing the new court house determined to 
organize a committee to formulate means 
and measures to secure it. 

Accordingly early in October a meeting 
was called at the office of State's Attorney 
Searle to consider the matter. Some twenty 
citizens attended and T. J. Robinson was 
elected chairman, and C. J. Searle secretary. 
After a full discussion of the situation a 
committee was appointed to report at a 
subsequent meeting. This meeting was held 
within a few days thereafter, and a sub- 
committee of fourteen was selected which 
should have full charge, and take such action 
as should seem advisable to secure favorable 
action by the voters. 

This sub-committee consisted of T. S. 
Sih'is, I'", iv Parmenter, William McEniry, 



// / .S T O R I C R U C K I ,S L A N D C U N T Y S9 

S. 8. Hull, C. F. Lymle. Phil Mitclu'U, William carried the iirojiositions l)y 1,739 majority. 

Jaek.son, t'. J. Searle, H. P. Simiiscm, \V. P. The committee therefore believes that its 

Quayle, J. V. Kohinson, John Olihveiler, S. work was timely and thorouffh and made 

.1. ("ollins and myself. This committee or- ^-ictory i)(.)ssible. 

gaiiized by electing- H. P. Simpson secretary Of the money collected, 1553.67 was 

and myself chairman, and as thus organized devoted to the above purjioses, leaving a 

began work. balance of $118.33 in the treasury. The 

(Jf this committee C. F. Fyn<le, J. F. Hob- board of supervisors delegated the honor 
insoii and John Ohhveiler were appointoil a of laying the corner stone to the Old Set- 
committee to raise the necessary funds, and tiers' Association, but I'efused to appropri- 
secured subscriptions from seventy-two citi- ate money sutticient to defray the necessary 
zens, of sums ranging from fifty cents to lifty expenses of the exercises, and that society 
dollars, aggregating six hundred anil se\'enty- being without funds our committee appro- 
two dollars. priated $47.94 to cover this deficit. 

The committee decided to make a com- .\fter ])aying these bills there still remained 

]jlete canvass of each ward in this city by $70.39 in the treasury, and after thoughtful 

l)ersonal interview of the voters and see that consideration the committee concluded that 

a full vote was polled; and at the same time it would be appropriate and wise to apply 

send from one to three men into each town- the balance towai'ds the purchase of some 

shi]) in the county, to enlist the efforts of as suitable memorial to Ije placed in the building, 

many influential men of the township as anil finally decided to purchase and have 

possible, and employ one or more suitable hung in this cnui't room jiortraits of all the 

men in the township to continue the woi'k chief justices of the I'nitetl States Supreme 

until the polls closed. Court than whom the names of no al.tler 

The committee also jireiiareil and pi-inted judges adorn the pages of judicial action, 

literature consisting of original matter, ex- This has been done and I now have the 

tracts from the "oi)position articles" with honor and ])leasure of presenting to this court, 

appropriate suggestions and distribiiteil them on behalf of the seventy-two subscribers to 

throughout the coimty attemiiting to jilace the fiuid, the portraits which you now see 

pamphlets in the hantls of e\'ery douljtful u]ion the walls of this room, and the com- 

voter; eidisteil the active support of friendly mittee trust they will lie accei)ted by your 

jiajiers, and thus aroused the friends of the honors as suitable a]>])ointnients to this 

project, turned the tide of disaffection and l)eautiful temple of justice and right. 



90 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND C OU N T Y 



COURT, BENCH AND BAR 



WILLIAM JACKSON 



The first term of the Cireuit Court of Rock 
IsLiml County was hekl April 28, 1834, in 
the house of John Barrel in Farnhamsburg, 
Richard M. Young presiding Judge. 

Farnhamsburg was located on the liank of 
the Mississippi River, in the east jjart of the 
City of Rock Island, a short distance west of 
the residence of the Hon. Ben T. Cable. 
The first house built on the present site of 
the City of Rock Island, then Farnhamsburg, 
was a log house built by Colonel George 
Davenport and one Russell Farnham, who 
was engaged in business with Colonel Daven- 
port. This log house was afterwards enlarged 
and kept as a hotel by John Barrel, a Mr- 
ginian. In November, 1835, the records and 
Court were removed from the house of John 
Barrel to Stephenson. Under an act of the 
Legislature of March 31, isli), the State of 
Illinois was divided into four judicial circuits. 
The Judges of the Su]ireme Court of the State 
held the Circuit Courts. The Circuit Courts 
are Corn-is of general jurisdicture. 

The County Commissioners Court was 
established .March 22, 1810. It had juris- 
diction throughout the County in revenue 
matters, county tax, licenses, and other 
public business. Three Judges formed the 
Court. One was the County Judge, the 
others Associate Justices. This Coiu't con- 
tinued until the County Court was established 
by act of February 12, 1849. The County 
Court consisted of one Judge. It had probate 
jurisdiction. Under the law two Justices of 
the Peace were elected. These had authority 



to act with the County Judge to transact the 
Inisiness formerly done by the County Com- 
missioners Court, and so continued to 18.57. 
after which the County business was trans- 
actetl by the Board of Supervisors, the 
County being then organized under the 
townshi]) organization law. 

The following persons, residents of Rock 
Island, were at various times members of the 
County Commissioners Court: George Dav- 
en]K>rt, John W. Spencer, Jolm \'auatta, 
George W. Harlan, John S. Miller, Lucius 
Wells, Nathaniel Belcher, Jacob Coleman, 
Lemuel Andrews, Adol]3hus Dunla]), John R. 
Taylor, (ieorge S. Moore, John Kistler, 
William L. Lee, M. W. Wright, Samuel Sloan. 
Jacoi) Starr, T. C. Temple, Cai)tain T. J. 
Robinson, James Weaverling, William M. 
Bailey, John M. Gould, George E. Holmes. 

The County Court was established by an 
act of the Legislature of February 12, 1849, 
in addition to its jurisdiction in pi'obate 
matters and matters pertaining to the 
revenue. The Legislature conferred upon the 
Court a limited law jurisdicture, which it still 
possesses, although enlarged. 

The office of Count.y Judge has been filled 
by prominent citizens of Rock Island 
County: 

John W. Spencer, 1849 to 1852; 

William Bailey, 1852 to 1853; 

John M. Gould, 1853 to LS.W: 

Cornelius Lynde, Jr., 1857 to 1861; 

Joseph B. Danfojth, 1861 to 1865; 

John W. Wilson, 1865 to 1871; 



HISTORIC RUCK ISLAND COUNTY 91 

.Samuel S. (luyor, 1S71 to 1S77; J. J. Glenn, 1S7S to 1897; 

Lucian Adams, ls77 to lil()2; A. A. Smith, 1S7S to 1S94; 

E. E. Parnientc]-. I'.KIL' lo 1906; Hiram Bigelow, 1895 to 1902: 

Roliert W. Olmsted, now acting Judge, Emery C. Graves, 1903; 

elected in April, 1007, in |ilace of E. E. Par- F. D. Ramsey, 1897; 

menter, deceased. William H. Gest, 1897. 

Courts of Probate were first cstaMished by Among the gentlemen named above as 

law February 10, 1S21. In the County of . fudges who were residents of the County of 

Rock Island Harmon (!. Reynolds was Rock Island are Ira 0. Wilkinson, .1. W. 

Proljate .Justice from ls;^9 to lS4(.i. He was l)rury, (ieorge W. Pleasants and William H. 

followed by Ira (). Wilkinson. 1.S47 to 1S40. (u'si. .Tudge Wilkinson, after lea^'ing the 

The Circuit Coui't <if Ho(4-; Island ('oimt\' bench in IS()7, wcul to Chicago, where he 

was originally in the liftli judicial circuit of pi'acticed law until ISSl, when he returned 

the State of Illinois, afterwards in the sixth to Rock Island Coimty and I'esiimed practice, 

judicial circ\iit. In 1873 with the C'ountie.s He died August 24, 1S94, ,Iudge Plea.sants, 

Henry and .Mercer i1 composed the fifth after he became .ludgc in lS(i7, continued to 

judicial circuit. .Afterwards, under the act ]ireside a.s such until the year 1897. He died 

of June 7, 1N77, the Counties of Rock Island, October 22, 1902. For nineteen years he 

Mercer, Henry, Henderson, Warren and presided as one of the .Judges of the first, 

Knox composed the tenth judicial circuit. second and third <listricts of the Ap])ellate 

Under the act of Aj.n'il 23, 1897, the Counties Courts of this State. 

of l\ock Island, Mercer, Whitesiile and Henry Judge I)rury aftei' he retired from the 

now' compose the fourteenth judicial circuit. beiu'li in 1860, resumed the practice of the 

Gentlemen eminent as jitrists in this State law at Davenport, Iowa; he died March 1, 

have presided in the Circuit Courts of Hoid< lSi)9. 

Island County; we find on recor<l the names of: .Judge Cesi is now one of the Circuit Judges 

Richard A. Voting, 1834; of this jtidicial district. The memliers of the 

Sidney Breese, 1835; bar of Rock Island County who are now in 

Thomas Ford, lS3f): actual practice are about sixty-five. Many 

Daniel Stone, \S'.]7 to 1841 ; of them are young men who have lately 

Thomas C. l')rowii, 1N41 to 1S48; entered into the practice of the ])rofession. 

Renjamin R. Shehhni, 1848 to 1S49: The oldest members of the bar now li\'ing 

\\'illiam Kellogg, 1S50 to 1851; and nearly all are in actual practice, are 

Ira O. Wilkinson, ISoO to 1857; .John T. Jirowning, isilward 1). Sweeney, 

J. W. Drury, 1858 to 1860; William .Ia(d';son, Lucian Adams, Henry C. 

John H. Howe, ISfiO to 1861: Connelly, ,M. ,M. Sturgeon, W. J. Entriken, 

Ira O. Wilkinson, istil to 1S(J7: William A. .Meese, William P.. Moore, J. T. 

(ieorge W. I'leasants, l.S(i7 to 1S07: Kenwortln- and Charles 1,. Widker. 



92 



HISTORIC ROC K ISLAND COUNTY 



ROCK ISLAND COUNTY SOLDIERS' MONUMENT 



The feeling inspired in a great number of 
the people of the County, to ]my a tribute to 
the soldiers of this County, who had and would 
die in the war for the protection of the Union, 
was expressed and recognized I;)y the Board of 
Supervisors December 17. 1863, by the 
passing of a resolution, approjiriating $1,500 
toward the building of a .suitable monument 
to be placed in Courthouse Square as a 
memorial to the soldiers of this County who 
died in the War of the Rebellion; and that 
their names be inscribed thereon. 

For the purpose of carrying out the intent 
of the resolution, the clerk of the Court was 
authorized to issue county orders to the 
amount of $1,500 to the County Monument 
Committee whenever they may call for them. 
The committee ap]5ointed were Nathaniel 
Belcher, B. H. Kimball, S. S. Foster, J. Q. 
Wynkoop and S. VV. Wheelock. Sejiitember 
12, 1867, the Board of Su|)ervisors authorized 
Major James M. Beard.sley, chairman of the 
Citizens' Committee, to procure plans and 
specifications. The design presented by 
Leonard W. Volk, Sculptor, of Chicago, was 
accejjted by the committee and contracted for. 

Committees were appointed throughout the 
County to solicit contributions from every- 
bod}^, which received a hearty recognition. 

December 17, 1868, the Board of Super- 
visors authorized the County Clerk to draw 
an order on the Comity Treasurer for the 
amount necessary to complete the Rock 
Lsland County Soldiers' Memorial Monument, 
upon the order of the Comity Monument 
Committee, after they should have expended 
the amounts already appropriated by the 



County and donated by the people. The 
approximate cost of the monument was 
$10,000; larger proportion coming from the 
peo]ile's donations. 

The base of the monument is Concord 
granite, and Athens, Illinois, limestone; the 
shaft, which is capped, is surmounted by a 
statue of a Union .soldier; all of Italian marble, 
and is about fifty feet in height. A copper 
box was placed in the base, under the marble 
shaft, where was placed newspapers of the 
day. and historical documents. Names of 
all soldiers enlisted from the County are 
engraved on the bases. 

The monument was first placed a trifle 
north of midway, between the east entrance 
of the Court House and the street sidewalk. 

In remo\ing the monument to its present 
location one of the base stones were broken 
and rejjlaced with granite. On the base of 
the monument is inscribed this sentiment: 

"In memory of its patriotic and heroic sons, 
who served their country during the (ireat 
Rebellion, and died that the Nation might 
live, Rock Island County dedicates this 
Monument." 

On Friday, April 9, 1869— the day being 
the fourth anniversary of the surrender of 
Lee's army to General U. S. Orant at Appo- 
mattox Court House, Virginia — occurred the 
dedication of the Soldiers' ^Memorial Monu- 
ment. 

With clouds and rain the previous chiy, 
filletl the feelings of the peojile with disap- 
])()intnient; but the morning dawned clear 
and beautiful. The crowds gathered from 
the cities and country, with a fine, strong and 



HISTORIC liU C K 1 S L A -V /; C U N T Y 



93 



large re]ire.senta1iiin of o\ir Lnva nei,i!;hl)(irs. 
The Court House square, with Illinois ami 
Orleans Streets, were crowded. The city 
was gaily decorated with Hags, hunting and 
banners. At about 2 o'clock the ])olice and 
military formed at Court House square: the 
Masonic orders on liuffalo Street, the (Jdd 
Fellows and Cood Tenqilers on Illinois: the 
Fire Department on Market square, and the 
civic societies in Court House square. A 
long line of march was made, starting from 
Coiu't House square; east on Orleans Street 
to Madison; north on Madison to Illinois; 
west on Illinois to Otter; south on Otter to 
Orleans; and east on Orleans to Court House 
square, where the ceremonies commencetl. 
The military from the Island made a most 
commanding ap]iearance. General T. ,1. Rod- 
man ami most of the officers were present. 
The Turner Societies with their fine singing 
added much to the occasion. Salutes were 
fired, whistles blowing and church bells ring- 
ing. After the iiu'ocation to the people, 



Honoral:)le Emery A. Storrs of Chicago was 
introduced, and made the main address of the 
day, a most eloquent and patriotic oration. 

The ceremonies of the day were highly 
interesting and impressive, and indication of 
the community's deep res])ect for the dead 
soldier. The occasion was the most memor- 
able in the history of Rock Island County — 
full 30,000 ]5e(.)ple l:)eing ))resent. 

The twelve cannon originally placed around 
the Court House yard were given to the 
County by the War Department through an 
act of Congress, and are cannons captured 
from the Confederacy — several of them being 
spiked. Two of these cannon were after- 
wards presented to (iraha.m Post No. 212, 
G, A. R., Moline, Illinois, and jilaced in 
Riverside Cemetery. 

Decoration Day ceremonies have been 
regularlv observed; first l)y the Rock Island 
Light Artillery, and since their disbamlment 
bv G. A. R. Posts situate here. 



TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION 



September 1, 1S.56, on application of three 
jietitioners, signed by o\-er fifty legal voters 
of Rock Island County, praying for the 
question of township organization; it was 
ordered by the court that the question be 
submitted to the voters of said county, to 
vote for or against township organization at 
the next November election. Abstract of 
votes given at said election resulted as fol- 
lows: 

For township organization, 2314. 
Against township organization, 147. 

Tuesday, December 2, 1S56, the court 
appointed Lemuel Andrews, Nathaniel Belcher 



and Flavel J. Whitney as commissioners to 
divide the county into towns, in accord- 
ance with general assembly act for townshi]) 
organization, passed February 17, IS.ol. 

June 29, 30. and .July 1, 1S.57. credentials 
were presented to the board of sujiervisors 
by the rei>resentati\es of the following named 
towns; 

Rock Island, H. .M. Marshall, Zachariali 
Cook; Canoe Creek, I. H. Marshall; Ham])ton, 
Lucius Wells; Dnny, Peter Demoss; l']tlging- 
ton, James Baker; Bowling, T. W. \'incent; 
Coal Valley, Lewis Wilson; Buffalo. O. H. P. 
Moore; Port Byron, David S. Hobert : Walker, 
Rinnah Wells; Fremont, A. S. Coe: ('amden, 



94 



// I STO RIC ROC K I S L A X I) C U N T Y 



H. J. Brunot: Moline, Jeremiah ("hainberlin: 
Cordova, George Marshall. 

September 18, 1857, by order of the board 
of supervisors, the names of the following 
towns were changed: 

Town of Camden, changed to Black Hawk; 
town of Fremont, changed to Penn; town of 
J?uffalo, changed to Copper; town of Walker, 
changed to Ziima. 

'.January 6, 1858, town of Copper, changed 
to Buffalo Prairie; town of Penn, changed to 
Coe. 

September 16, 1858, a part of Edgington 
Townshi]-), was, through the prayer of peti- 
tioners — citizens of Edgington Township — 
by order of the board of supervisors, named 
Andalusia. 

September 15, 1871, by petition of eight\-- 
three legal ^•oters of Coal A'alley Township, 
a partition of the township was made, and 
named town of Rural. 

March 3, 1873, a petition was presented to 
the board of supervisors, by Quincy McNeil 
and others, to annex that portion of the 
Town of Black Hawk north of Rock River to 
the Town of Rock Island. 

Deceml)er 12, 187,3, bj^ a vote of the board 
of supervisors — yeas, nine; nays, eight; absent, 
one — it was ordered that the portion of Black 
Hawk Township lying north of Rock River 
and south of the corporate limits of the City 
of Rock Island, be detached from the Town 
of lilack Hawk and annexed to the Town of 
Rock Island. 

Decemlier 14, 1877, the board of super- 
visors adopted a resolution that the portion 
of Rock Island Township, south of the cor- 
])orate limits of the City of Rock Island, 
extending to the north shore of Rock River, 
be created and constituted the new Town of 
South Rock Island, to lake effect March 1, 
1878. The corporate limits of the City of 
Rock Island to be the Town of Rock Island. 

November 16, 1872. I'pon petition by 
three-fourths of the voters and property 
liolders of the following tract to-wit: N. w. 



M, Sec. 6, T. 17, R. 1, 4th P. M., and W. 
fractional }4 (south of Sylvan Water) of 
Sec. 31, T. 18, R. 1 W., 4th P. M., the city 
council annexed said territory to the City of 
Rock Island, and made it a part of the 
Fourth Ward of said city. 

September 15, 1875, at a meeting of the 
board of supervisors the above tract (a part 
of Moline Township), to simplify adminis- 
tration and taxation, was annexed to the 
Town of Rock Island. 

March 14, 1879. Adopted by the board of 
supervisors, that the Town of Moline be sub- 
divided. The incorporated City of Moline 
be organized as the Town of Moline; the 
remaining territory of Moline Township to 
be hereafter known as the Town of South 
Mf)line. 

CORDOVA TOWNSHIP. 

The town of Cordo\-a lies in the extreme. 
northeast end of the county. It is a frac- 
tional township, lying well up on the bluffs, 
and conunands one of the finest views on the 
Mississippi River. The earliest settler was 
Herdman East, who built a log cabin in 1836 
on the iM-esent site of the village of Cordova. 
Other settlers coming that year and in 1838 
were J. S. Phillips and John Marshall from 
New Jersey; (niy W. and Amazi Rathburn, 
Nelson and Chauncey M. Tripp from New 
York; William Kelley, Dudy Buck, Peter 
I^eardsley, A. G. Adams, Wm. Armstrong, 
Jeremiah Rice, Robert and Wm. Jenks, Dr. 
Thos. Baker, Renoni Haskins, A. Whiting, 
all having families. Nathaniel lielcher and 
Miss Jenks, and Joseph Mills and Miss Jenks 
were among the first married. The township 
is quite rough and broken, though some fine 
farms. The jirincipal industry is the manu- 
facture of lime. 

VILLAGE OF CORDOVA. 

This village .situated principally in the 
township of Cordova, with a very small 
portion ill the township of Port Byron, lies 



HISTORIC h'OCK 1 S L A .\ 1) COUNTY 



95 



well iiji (in the l)luff and commands one "f 
the finest views on the Mississippi River, 
which stretches away in both directions 
until lost liy its windin.iis; the hlnf'fs at this 
point are ratlier aiiruiit. 

The earliest settler of this jilace was Ilerd- 
nian Ivist. who hnilt a lo,<i caMii in 1S3(3: 
John Marshall and family, lh\ Thomas 
Baker, Amazi R. Rathhnrn, Thcochnc and 
John Butcher coniinn the same year, William 
ami (ieorj^e Marsha.ll, Jonathan and K. S, 
Cool, and Joseph R. Sexton came in l.S,3S. 

The town was laid cuit in 1s;^7 liy Jolm 
Marshall and l)r, Thomas Baker, and the 
first frame houses were Imilt the followino; 
year liy these iientlemen. Bime kilns were 
early established, and for some years this 
was a busy point. The first school \\as 
taufiht by Dr. leaker in his own house, where 
he instructed in a primitive way his own 
children, together with those of his neighliors. 

The first school h(}use was built in lS6o. 
and contlucted under the common school 
laws of the state. Since February l(i, lS(j."), 
a board of education, composed of six mem- 
bers, control school affairs. The es|)ecial 
pride to which the residents direct attention 
is their fine i^radeil scliool which numliers 
n])ward of 300 scholars, under the super- 
vision of an efficient principal anfl corps of 
teachers. The school also has a well equip]ied 
circulating lil.)rary. The princip;tl ])rotluct of 
the locality is corn, of which large shipments 
are made. The firsi postoftice was estab- 
lished in 183U. John Marshall l)einfi; its first 
postmaster, who also kept the first hotel. In 
1853 the first grist mill was erected by 
Brigham and Marshall. A petition for village 
organization was filed .March 16, 1S67. An 
election was held awl went against organiza- 
tion. In 1S77 the subject was again sub- 
mitted to the voters and affirmed in favor of 
village organizatii>n. and on the -3d day of 
April, 1S77, the village was duly organized. 
Cordova is situated on the Mississijipi River, 
and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Baul Railway. 



COE TOWNSHIP. 

Coe, surroundeil by the townships of Canoe 
Ci'eek, Port Biyi-oii, Zuma and Cordova, is 
considered one of the best agricultural |i<ii'- 
tions of tlie county. John Walker was (he 
fii'st settler in 1S35. followed shortly by .b)hn 
I'ulcher: his brother, Burrall Mutcher, conung 
in 1S3(), and in IS.")1 locating on his brother's 
section, his brother lia\ing left for Cali- 
fornia, but dieil on his way there. Samuel 
Allen came in 1S37, moving frcuu what was 
afterwards the village of Port Hyron. Sam- 
uel Ennison came shortly after from Indi.-ina. 
Henry Smith, Henry M. Stockton and Isaac 
Hollister also coming in 1S37. Mrs. Charity 
Ahirshall. a widow witli nine children, came 
in 1S3S from New Jersey, The first to wed 
in the townshii) were Hiram Walker and 
Mary Ennis, and David Allen and Miss 
Remson. 

PORT BYRON. 

In the year 1S26 two brothers, Roliert and 
Thomas Syms, located on the present site of 
Port P>\-ron, and established a wocxl yard for 
su|iph-ing cord wood to steamlioats on the 
.Mississi]ipi Ri\er. Their location soon came 
to 1)0 known as Syms' Wood Yard. They 
were among the first white settlers in this 
locality, other residents being principally 
Sac and Fox Bulians. 

During the year 1.S2S Archibald Allen, 
Conrad Leek. Ceorge W. Harlan and others 
came with their families and settled in this 
townshi]). Archibald Allen traded with the 
Indians, buying skins and furs. He was 
afterwai'ds appointed superx'isor of roads, 
was elected to the ollice of constable, and from 
1S33 to 1S34 was United States mail carrier 
between Fort Armstrong and (lalena. He 
was also postmaster, the office being kept in 
his own house, which was located just north 
of Syms' Wood Yard. Prior to its removal 
in 1S36 it was known as Canaan. Mr. Allen 
]_)uilt the first frame house l:)etween (^uincy 
and < lalena. 



96 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



In 1830, Thomas Hubbard, H. East and 
Britton arrived and became residents of the 
new settlement. During this year a .son was 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Leek, which 
was the first white chikl born in the township. 
In tlie year 1831 a son of Geo. W. Harlan 
died, this being the first death in the town- 
ship. 

During the year 1832 Edmund A. Philleo 
was killed, the result of a quarrel over claims 
and possession of land. Mrs. A. Allen was 
the first adult person to die. The first school 
was taught in 1833. New settlers who came 
in 1834 were Walter Phillips, Geo. R. Allen, 
H. M. Smith and Presley Quick. The next 
year, 1835, Samuel Allen, William McKenney 
and a Mr. Hathaway came with their families. 
Samuel Allen kejit a tavern in a double log 
house. His wife, Aunt Candace, as she was 
known, was a good cook, and they were well 
patronized. This year the government sur- 
veyed and subdivided the public lands. In 
1836 the arrivals were Moses Bailey, Rufus 
B. Chase, Nathaniel Belcher, Jeremiah H. 
Lyford, Addison N. Philleo, Astimus Philleo 
and his daughter Lucretia. R. B. Chase 
manufactured the first white lime, for which 
Port Byron became noted. 

.\bout this time a tow-n was platted and 
Port Byron became a point of considerable 
business activit}-. (ieorge S. Moore erected 
a store building; the postoffice at Canaan was 
closed and ojiened at Port Byron, with 
Nathaniel Belcher postmaster. Mr. Belcher 
liuilt a hotel and the first frame dwelling. 
Dr. .Jeremiah H. Lyford, a graduate of Dart- 
mouth College, w'as the first physician; his 
[)ractice extended over a large territory, both 
ill Illinois and Iowa. 

Colonel Eads was a resident here for a time, 
living with Archibald Allen prior to taking 
u]j his residence on "'Hie Heights," at this 
time known as LeClairc, Iowa. His son was 
the famous .las. B. I'^ads, also living at Le- 
Clairc (hu-ing ihe lale forties and early fifties, 
removing from there to St. Louis. He 



became widely known as a builder of boats 
for the United States government, constructor 
of the St. Louis bridge and the jetties at the 
mouth of the Mississippi River. 

On August 1, 1836, the first election was 
held for the selection of representatives in 
the state legislature and in congress. On 
November 7th the first presidential election 
was held, at w'hich eleven votes were cast, 
all for Martin Van Buren. 

This is a school town. The Port Byron 
Academy is a flourishing institution, untler 
the management of the Congregational 
church; it has close relationship with Beloit 
College. The public schools are on a high 
order and are recognized for their good work. 

VILLAGE OF PORT BYRON. 

The village of Port Byron was incorporated 
in February, 1856. The village was laid out 
in 1836, by Samuel Allen, Dr. P. Gregg, 
Nathaniel Belcher and Moses Bailey; the land 
was held in common by them. On the land 
was but one log house and a small log store. 
The store was started by Walter Phillips. 
Shortly after the site was laid out Nathaniel 
Belcher built a frame store, and put in a 
stock of general merchandise, associating 
with him Mr. Hambaugh. The first grist 
mill was erected in the spring of 1849 by T. 
G. Temple and N. Dorrance. It was run by 
steam, and had one set of burrs for wheat and 
one set for corn. The first school was held 
in the old log store of Samuel Allen in 1838, 
Harriet Dodge being teacher. The first 
school house was of brick, and was built in 
1864. In addition to the public school, an 
Academy was erected in 1883, and is in a 
flourishing condition. The village is situated 
on the Mississippi River, and its railroad 
facilities are the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railway. 

CANOE CREEK TOWNSHIP. 

It was about seventy years ago that white 
people first settled in what became Canoe 



// / S T R 1 C ROCK I S LAND C U N T Y 



97 



Creek Tcnvnsliip. Those first settlers were 
Jonas Carter. John M. \\'all<er and Joseph 
Martin. They came with o\ teams tVom 
Wayne County, Illinois, and lamieil at Canoe 
Creek on the 26th day ol' Aii,i;ust, is:?.'). 
Their first work was to cut ilowii some small 
trees and make a pen for their stock, and then 
to cut some larger ones and sjilit them up to 
make a rude shelter for themseh'es. Mr. 
John M. Walker is the only one of the three 
now living. After selecting his claim ho wont 
back to his former home and was married. 
He and his young hride then made their 
wedding trip on horsoliack from Wayne 
Count}' to Canoe Creek, -Mr, Walker still 
resides on his first choice of land. His wife 
passed away a few years ago. Abstractors 
wo>il(l ha\-e an easy time tracing Mr. Walkers' 
title to th? land he owns. He has a deed 
signed by James K. Polk, president of the 
Ignited States, and it has never been trans- 
ferred. 

Mr. C'arter and Mr. Martin went to work at 
once on their arrival anil built log houses on 
their claim. These were the first liouses in 
what is now Canoe Creek Township. A part 
of the land covered by their claim is now 
owned by Wallace Woodburii and a part by 
William Pearsall, The land at that time had 
not been surveyed by the government, except 
into townships, Aliout three years after- 
wards it was subdivided into sections. 

At this time there was only one house 
where the Cities of Rock Island and Moline 
have since grown up. Mr. Walker informs 
the writer that their nearest neighbor to the 
north at that time was at Savanna, where a 
man lived who ran a ferry; and the nearest 
one to the east was at Dixon, where there was 
a stage station. 

Their first market place was Chicago, to 
which place they hauled all of their surplus 
grain and drove the stock which they had for 
sale. They would haul a load of wheat to 
Chicago and trade it for salt. This was slow 



and tedious work in those days, and there 
were no good roads and no bridges. 

They would often find streams with full 
banks, swollen by heavy rains, and would 
have to camp for days waiting for the water 
to subside .so they could cross with a reason- 
able degree of safety. At a later date 
Savanna and Galena became milling places. 
Very often one would take a sack of wheat 
and go on horseback to one of these places to 
have it grinmd into (lour. When they went 
by team it usually took se\'eral days. The 
mills had small bm'rs and groun<l but slowly 
and each customer had to wail his turn to 
have his grist ground. 

Money was scarce in those days. People 
did not go to the stores every week as no'w, 
for groceries and other supplies. One old 
settler has stated that one year his grocery 
bill was maile u]) of three items: one dollar's 
worth of sugar, a gallon of kerosene oil at 
seventy-five cents, and a barrel of salt. 
Wild game furnished most of the meat; 
.Johnny cake, corii bread, and a little white 
bread, potatoes and wild fruits, honey and 
maple syrup made up their bill of fare; and 
it was not so bad either. Housewives spun 
their own yarn ami did theii- own weaving. 

The scarcity of money is illustrated by the 
statement of one old settlor, who states that 
before he could raise the fifty cents per acre 
to pay the government for his land, he had to 
pre-empt it several times. First liy himself, 
then his wife and his chiklren, making 
repeated filings in order to hold the laml until 
the money could be raised. 

The first house was of logs and was built by 
.Jonas Carter, 

The first frame house was built l\y tieorge 
Kendall, The first school house was built of 
logs and was located on Canoe Creek. 

The first frame schoolhouse was the Poplar 
drove schoolhouse. and was built by John 
Denison. The first school was taught by Miss 
Johanna Herd. 



98 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



The first deed conveying real estate was 
signed by James K. Polk, president of the 
United States. 

The first ferry was at the big rock on the 
Meredosia. 

The first church built was the Bethesda. 

The first person buried in Bethesda Ceme- 
tery was Mrs. Parry Henderson. 

The first person buried in Mt. Marie Ceme- 
tery was Mrs. Maria Liphardt. 

HILLSDALE VILLAGE 

Is in Canoe Creek Township and is not 
incorporated. It is a small village but has 
good school facilities, general stores, black- 
smith shop and two hotels. The first post- 
office was established in 1842 or 1843, with 
Moses Hubbard as postmaster. The second 
postoffice was called Hill's Crossing. At this 
crossing a station was established by the 
Sterling & Rock Island Railroad, now the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and the 
village was laid out in 1868 by Richard Hill 
and named Hillsdale. It is the .shipping 
point for a part of Canoe Creek and Zuma 
Townships. 

ZUMA TOWNSHIP. 

The first white child born in what is now 
Zuma Township was Mary Ann Sturdivan; 
the first white boy was L. W. Beal, long 
afterwards colonel in the army. The first 
school house was built in 1854. It is known 
as the Wake school house and is where all tlie 
elections are held. The first frame house 
built was by Mr. Center on what is known as 
the John Moody place. The houses in those 
days were small, rude and inconvenient. If 
they had floors they were usually of good 
solid oak, an inch and a quarter or more in 
thickness. I remember of only two houses 
in those early days of 18,50 that were jjainted; 
those were Nelson Wells and Jose])h Shanks. 
Polished floors were unknown and rugs and 
carpets very scarce. The peo]5le who settled 
in Zuma in those early days were generous 



and hospitable; the stranger was always 
welcome. They believed like President 
Roosevelt in having plenty of good girls and 
boys, and in those days the boys helped their 
fathers and the girls their mothers. 

Mr. J. B. Walker has lived in Zuma the 
longest; he was born in 1838. The first Ijrick 
house was built by Hiram Walker in 1853. 

There were no carriages or buggies in those 
days. If a young man wanted to take his 
best girl out, they had to go on foot or horse 
Isack or ride in a lumber wagon. And the 
])eople seemed hajipy in those days, had good 
times and enjoyed themselves just as well as 
they do today, if not better. 

Among those who settled here fifty years 
or more ago, and whose farms are now occu- 
jiied by persons of the same name are the 
following: Nelson Wells, Monroe Swank, 
Ambrose Searle, James Searle (on Rock 
River), Madison Bowles, George Wake, A. H. 
Mead, J. A. Donahue, Charles Schaffer, A. E. 
Herren, Davis Daily, Hiram Walker and 
Wesley Hanna. 

The first school house was built by sub- 
scription in 1855, and was called the Oak 
Grove school house. 

In 1856 the Syms school house was Ijuilt 
with public funds raised by taxation. 

The first frame house was built by Ambrose 
Searle in 1838. The frame was hewed out, 
r.afters ami all. The shingles and lath were 
split or "rived" out of oak w-ith an instru- 
ment called a "frow." The boards were of 
maple and were sawed at a mill between 
LeClaire and Princeton, Iowa, owned by a 
Mr. Barber. 

The first cider was made by Gregory Brown 
in the fall of 1857, from apples raised on his 
farm near Rock River. 

Chinese sugar was introduced into this 
township in 1857 and some molasses was made 
by Mmu'oe Swank. 

The first postoffice was established in the 
township in 1848 and was called Fairport. 
It was located on section twenty-eight, on 



H I S TORI (' R C K I S L A N D COUNTY 



99 



the liaiik of Rock Ri\'er. ami Tniinan (l<irt()n 
was postmaster. 

In the year 1856 A. F. Russell laid out a 
town site at what is called Zunia Center. It 
soon had a store. l)lacksinith shop and slioe 
sho}). 

JOSLIN 

Is sitiuited in the southeastern part of 
Zuma Township, and is a station on the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. It 
was located by Benjamin B. .loslin, who came 
to this county in 1853 and acquired 600 acres 
of good land in the locality, an<l marked out 
the village at the time of the Iniilding of the 
old Sterling Railroad. N. B. Joslin, his son, 
started the first store in 1870 and was the 
first ])ostmaster. The village is not incor- 
porated, is small but has two general stores, 
one implement store, a new church, several 
dwellings and a good farming community 
surro\uiding it. The railrf)ad station is named 
Joslj-n, but the old family name is Joslin. 

ZUMA CENTER 

Is situated in Town of Zuma and is not 
incorporated. In 1856 A. V. Russell laid out 
a town site which was named Zuma Center. 
It soon had a store, blacksmith shoj) and shoe 
sho]>. The bounds consist as laid out of 
three streets, two blocks and thirty lots. It 
is a small place with church, school and three 
houses. 

OSBORN. 

Named after Fred Osborn, a long lime resi- 
dent and land owner of the localitj'. The 
village is not incorporated. It is situated in 
the southern part of Zuma Township, near 
Rock River and on the Chicago, Burlington 
& Quincy Railroad, and near the old Cleve- 
land ferry crossing. The postoffice, railroad 
depot and half a dozen houses constitute the 
village. At one time years ago the Sterling 
branch of the Chicago, Burlington A: Quincy 
Railroad had a bridge here across Rock 



Ri\'er, the railroad line continuing to the 
l^riar -Bluff coal mines, but the bridge was 
afterwards removed to Barstow. 

HAMPTON TOWNSHIP. 

This tcnvnship is situated north and east of 
Moline Township, the Mississippi River form- 
ing the northwestern boundary, and the Rock 
River the southern. The township consists 
of bluffs along its northern and southern 
boundaries, with wide rich bottoms along the 
rivers and a l)road valley running east and 
west through its center, e.xtending from the 
Mississippi River to Rock River. Martin 
Culver made the first land claim in 1826. 
Rev. John Kinney and two brothers made the 
next claims in 1827. During 1828 Henry 
McNeal, Joel Thompson, Michael Bartlett, 
Asaph Wells and Joel Wells, Jr., settled in 
the same vicinity. The first l)irth was the 
daughter of Henry McNeal — Mary Ann — 
born October 5, 1832. The first death occurred 
in 1829 or 1830, on board the Steamer Joseph- 
ine, on her way to Galena; a lady from Eng- 
land coming to Oalena to visit her son, died 
just as the boat was landing, and she was 
biu'ied at Hamilton. The first couple married 
in tlie town was Joel Wells and Mary Mc- 
Murphy, by Jonas Wells, justice of the peace, 
in 1835. Within the township are six vill- 
ages: Hampton, Watertown, Sih-is. Carbon 
Cliff, Barstow and Rapids Cit}', all incor- 
porated villages but Barstow. The township 
contained some rich coal beds; some of which 
have been w^orked for many years. Charles 
Ames opened the first coal mine. Heagy and 
Stoddard, and Taylor Williams operated 
quite extensively in coal on sections 15, 16 
and 22, where was located the mining town 
of Happy Hollow, now extinct, having at one 
time a population of 1,000 hard working, busy 
people. A railroad connecting these mines 
witli the Western Union Railway, now the 
C, M. it St. P., at Watertown, was built in 
the winter of 1872 and 1873. Taylor Wil- 
liams and H. M. (iilchrist it Co., operated in 



100 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



coal at Rapids City; Samuel Bowles. D. G. 
Porter and Silvis Bros, operating in the 
southern part of the township. 

Joel Thompson was the first postmaster, 
and received his appointment in the winter 
of 1837. Lucius Wells tau>;ht the first school, 
in a log cabin, in 1833 and 1834. Elihu 
Wells was the first teacher under the school 
laws. 

In the years of 1833 and 1834, Henry Mc- 
Neal furnished all the wood for the Mississ- 
ippi River steamboats above the DesMoines 
rapids, and for forty years thereafter Hamp- 
ton was one of the principal points for 
furnishing coal and wood to the river steam- 
ers. Henry McNeal owned the first tax 
receipt issued in Rock Island County for 
taxes paid. Hampton Township is well 
supplied with railroads: Chicago, Rock Island 
& Pacific; the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul; 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and the 
Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern 
traversing her territory. 

VILLAGE OF RAPIDS CITY. 

Rapids City was surveyed and laid out in 
1838. About 1833 a grist mill was built by 
the Wells Brothers; a saw mill being subse- 
quently added. Another grist and saw mill 
was i)uilt l)y .Joseph Cox in 1838. A Mr. 
Runkle and a Mr. Blanchard sold the first 
goods. Joseph Garnett, the first l)lacksmith 
shop in 1847. Henry S. Shurtliff started a 
regular grocery store in 1855, and afterwards 
added dry goods. In 1857 E. M. Prudens 
started a general merchandise store. 

August 12, 1875, the county court, after 
canvassing the \-otos of an election called and 
a))pi)iiiteil prior, to vote on village organiza- 
tion — the result of which was forty-si.x votes 
for organization and one vote against — the 
court decreed the \'illage of Rapids City to 
1)C iiicoriioratpd. It is situated on the 
Chicago, Milwaukee i^: St. Paul Railwav. 



TIPPECANOE. 

Tippecanoe \'illage was platted and filed 
for record the 2d day of September, 1839; 
the formality of going through the necessary 
forms of recording was done, and on February 
18, 1840, was approved by the county com- 
missioners. The plat was six blocks long an 
two and one-half blocks wide; recorded by 
Joseph Cox, Samuel Cox and David Jennings 
the 17th day of February, 1840. It was 
located between Rapids City and Hampton, 
on the Mississippi River, aljout opposite 
Sycamore Chain. A very few jieople know of 
its ever having had an existence. It evi- 
dently was a paper town. 

VILLAGE OF HAMPTON. 

The Milage of Hampton, in Hami)ton 
Township, was survej'ed and ]ilatted soon 
after the organization of Rock Island County. 
Among the earliest business men were Joel 
Thomjison, Alonzo P. Clapp, Dower and 
Hammond, Samuel and David Lambert, M. 
W. Wriglit and Francis Black, followed by 
L. F. Baker, H. F. Thomas. H. 0. Norton, 
Dr. George Mncent, S. L. Brettun, and Wm. 
B. Webster. The first postoffice was estab- 
lished in the winter of 1837, Joel Thomjison 
being commissioned postmaster, followed by 
Francis Black, Samuel Heagy aiid L. F 
Baker. From the earliest settlement Hamp- 
ton was one of the principal ]ioints for sup- 
plies for the farmers in the upper end of the 
covmty, and even considerable territory in 
Henry County. Here they brought their 
grain and sold their pork, which was ])acked 
b}' M. W. Wright and Francis Black, and 
shipped dow^n the river by the steamboats. 
In after years the coal interests were the 
principal business reliance; Heagy and Stod- 
dard and Taylor Williams being extensive 
operators. In 1884 Heagy and Stoddard were 
succeeded by the Northern Alining >\: Railway 
Company, who ceased operations about fifteen 



HISTORIC RO C K ISLAND C U N T Y 



101 



years ago. The echicatioiial interests of the 
viUage are well attended to, having a goo<l 
school house and good instructors. 

The oldest person horn in the tdwnship, if 
not in the county, imw li\-ing. is (ieorge 
McNeal. who was horn in INiU in a log cahiii 
which stood just south nf the tnwn hall in the 
same block in which he now resides. 

The assessors' plats show tlicre exists in the 
Village of Hampton, an old village called 
Milan, whicli was platted in 1S37. The i)Iat 
showing al>()Ut thirty blocks. In this dis- 
trict at the present time are only four or five 
houses. In that year tlie postofhce depart- 
ment at Washington, D. C. was petitioned 
for a postoffice at this place to be called 
Milan. There being a ]iostoffice of that name 
already in the state, the department estab- 
lished the postoffice under the name of 
Hampton, from which name the townshi]) 
and village derive their names. 

BARSTOW. 

Barstow is not an incorporated village. 
When the Sterling branch of the Chicago, 
Burlington it Quincy Railroad was com- 
pleted through Hampton Township, a station 
was estalilished on land owned by Joel (!. 
Franklin, and named Franklin Crossing, a 
postoffice being soon after established and 
given the same name as the railroad station, 
and Mr. Franklin being commissioned its 
first postmaster. 

When the main line of the railroad was run 
to this place, the name was changed to 
Barstow, and shortly afterwards the name of 
the postoffice was likewise changed. A large 
transfer in mail, passenger and freight Ijusi- 
ness is done here, to and from the Sterling 
branch, and despatched and received to and 
from the main lines to St. Paul and St. Louis. 
The village now comprises about twenty-fi\-e 
buildings and houses, an eating house, depot, 
restaurant, a general store, blacksmith sho]), 
school house and postoffice. 



VILLAGE OF WATERTOWN 

Is located in Hampton Township, and was 
platted in 1857. The first store was started 
that year by lAicius Curtis, who became the 
first ]5ostmaster. The Western Illinois Hos- 
l)ital for the Insane is located there. On the 
14th day of March, lOO."), fifty-one legal voters 
of a district |irescribed. petitioned the county 
cotn-t for the organization of the Village of 
Watertown. The 15th day of A]iril, 1905, 
was set apart for an election to be hekl at the 
M. W. A. hall to vote for or against village 
organization; the result being sixteen votes 
for incorporation and forty-foiu' against. 

April 24, 19U5, another petition was pre- 
sented to the county court by forty-five 
petitioners for \illage organization and an 
election day apjiointed for the 13th day of 
May, 1905; the result being sixty votes for 
\-illage organization and thirty-eight votes 
against organizat ion. 

An election held the 17th clay of .Tune, 
1905, for village trustees, resulted in the 
election of li'rank H. Sovey, John Rah, Henry 
C. McNeal and Dax'id Y. Allsbrow. A tie 
vote occurring of forty-nine votes for Eric 
Bowman and Henry Hillberg. Each came 
into court on the 23d day of June, 1905, and 
agreed to decide by lot. One of the officers 
of the court was blindfolded, two slips of 
]iaper with each candidates names written 
thereon were j)laced in a hat, and the officer 
drawing therefrom, Eric Bowman was de- 
clared elected the sixth trustee. 

VILLAGE OF CAHBON CLIFF 

The village of Carbon Cliff lies in the south 
part of Hamilton Townshi]), and is princi|)ally 
noted for its pottery and tile works. 

November 13, lUOG, thirty-seven legal 
voters of Hampton Township, desiring village 
incorporation, petitioned the county court 
for same. The court ordered an election to 
be held on the Sth day of December, 1906, 
for or against \-illage organization, the elec- 



102 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



tion to be held at Hennegan's store. The 
result of said election was fift.y-five votes for 
village organization and twenty-eight votes 
against same. An order was issued calling 
for an election for six trustees of the village 
the 12th of January, 1907. W. R. Carey, 
William Gearhardt, J. A. Hennegan, Claus F. 
Hansen, R. \'. O'Donnell and P. N. Hennegan 
being elected. 

TOWNS OF ROCK ISLAND AND MOILNE 

A history of the towns of Rock Island and 
jVIoline would ajiparently be similar and 
coincident to the history of the cities of Rock 
Island and Moline, the two towns being the 
corporate limits of the two cities. The date 
of the formation of these two townships is 
noted in Township Organization. 

SOUTH MOLINE TOWNSHIP 

Was organized as a town March 14, 1S79. 
It comprises all the territory originally in 
Moline Township, lying south and east of the 
corporate limits of the City of Moline. The 
history of the township, with the exception 
of its extreme eastern portion is so strongly 
interwoven with Moline, it is hard to draw a 
historical line. Among its earliest settlers 
were David Sears, Charles Atkinson, Joseph 
Danforth, Joel Wells and Huntington Wells. 

VILLAGE OF SI L VIS. 

November 14, 1906, thirty-six petitioners 
representing over 300 resident population, 
petitioned the county court of Rock Island 
Cf)unty, Illinois, for the orgainzation of the 
\'illage of Silvis. An election was ordered to 
l)e held Decendjer 1, 1906, for or against 
village organization. 

The cor])orate limits of said village to be as 
described in ]ietitiou, al)out two scpiare miles. 
Result of election was seventy-nine votes for 
organization, and si.\ votes against. An 
election for six trustees was held January 12, 
1907. R. Walsh, J. W. i'ikc, .lames Shannon, 
Win. Enimert, 1'. .1. Hall and Herbert Love 



being elected. The general railroad shops of 
the C, R. I. it P. R. R. are located here 
em]iloying from 1,.500 to 2,000 men. 

VILLAGE OF EAST MOLINE. 

On the 22d day of November, 1902, forty- 
two legal voters of the district petitioned the 
county court for the organization under the 
general law, of a village to be named the 
Village of East Moline. The 20th day of 
December was appointed as an election day 
to vote for or against village organization; 
election to be held at John Deere school 
l:)uilding. The result of said election was 
forty-seven votes for organization and seven 
votes against. December 23, 1902, the votes 
were canvassed by the judge of the county 
court and two justices of the ]3eace, and 
annoimced and adjudged for village organiza- 
tion. 

January 17, 1903, Andrew L. Mills, Thomas 
J. Gorman, Albert E. Bergholtz, Frank E. 
Palmer, August G. Schipper and James B. 
Hock were elected trustees. 

This is a rapidly growing village, and famous 
for its number of manufactories. At present 
the village is unable to accommodate the 
hundreds of working men who are employed 
there and at Silvis, a few miles above, and 
where the Rock Island shops are located. 
The employees of the gigantic shops are com- 
pelled to live in Rock Island, Moline and 
Davenport, for the most part owing to the 
fact that not a sufficient number of houses 
have been erected for their occupancy. 

East Moline was incorporated as a village 
December 23, 1902. It is situated in South 
Jloline Township, seven miles east of Rock 
Island, and four miles east of Moline. 

The Rock Island Sy.stem, the C, M. & St. 
P., the D., R. I. & N. W. Railroads and the 
.Mississippi \'allov Tractiim Company electric 
line enter the village. 

This village t)ffers unprecedented opj)or- 
tunities for investment and factory locations. 
The po]nilation is now about 600. It 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



103 



has telegraph, express and telephone facili- 
ties. 

The village of East Moline was incorporated 
as a city in January, 1907. 

COALTOWN. 

What was considered old Coaltown was 
more of a locality than a village, embracing 
a territory contingent to numerous coal 
mines in the southeast portion of the present 
township of Hampton and a small part of 
South Moline Township, and a very active 
locality it was in the early days. At one 
point where Samuel Bowles, who came to this 
county in 1S.35, discovered the first coal bed 
in this vicinity, and at one time built a church 
there. The vicinity was called Bowlesburg; 
another vicinity Tinkerville. The Silvis 
mines are still running, and a branch of the 
D., R. I. & N. W. Railway run there. 

SOUTH ROCK ISLAND TOWNSHIP. 

The township extends south from the cor- 
porate limits of the City of Rock Island to 
the north shore of the Rock River. This 
township is exceedingly productive of agri- 
cultural products. Its chief distinction lies 
in its jjlienomenal growth. From a mere 
])asture, hills and farm lands it has developed 
into one of the most desirable residence 
portions of Rock Island County. The prin- 
cipal place of interest is the noted Black 
Hawk's Watch Tower, which at the ]iresent 
time is cjuite a summer resort. From this 
tower Black Hawk kept watch for his ene- 
mies, either red or white. 

There are few locations, if any, in the 
great northwest, that will compare with it in 
natural beauty of scenery. Black Hawk's 
Watch Tower is a prominent point of ground, 
rising almost perpendicularly some two 
hundred feet above the level of the Rock 
River; and from its summit one can look out 
over miles and miles of pastoral beauty, and 
seventeen miles of the Rock River Valley. 



ROCK ISLAND CITY 

Was located opposite the western end of 
Vanilruff's Island, on the north shore of the 
Rock River, taking in the site of the old 
Sac Indian village. It was eighteen blocks 
long, running north from the river, and east 
and west nine blocks. It was platted and 
accepted by the County Commissioners July 
20, 1836, and recorded July 22, 1836. A 
beautiful pa])er city. 

VILLAGE OF SEARS 

Is located in the Town of South Rock Isl- 
and. Forty-three legal voters of South Rock 
Island petitioned the County Court to have 
the privilege of voting on the incorporation 
of the Village of Sears, under the general 
law; petitioners describing bounds and affirm- 
ing the district contained a population of 350. 

May 3, 1894, an election was held for or 
against incorporation, resulting in fifty-three 
votes for organization, and si.x votes against. 
May 26, 1894, the following si.x trustees were 
elected: C. H. Dibbern, John E. Breen, B. 
Patterson, J. McCarty, J. F. Mead anil E. D. 
Fisher. 

BLACK HAWK TOWNSHIP 

Derives its name from the noted chief of 
the Sac and Fox Indians, who for many years 
had his home within the present limits of 
South Rock Island Township. 

This township originally was full six miles 
scjuare, with the exception of a few hundred 
acres cut off from the northwest corner by 
the Mississip]ii River, and with Rock River 
flowing from the east nearly through its 
center. Afterwards the township was divided 
and Rock River became the northerly line of 
Black Hawk Township, and that part of the 
original township north of the river was 
named South Rock Island Township. 

The first marriage license in the township 
was issued on August 22, 1833, to Benjamin 
Goble and Barbara Vandruff, both now 
asleep in the beautiful Chippiannock Ceme- 



104 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



tery. They lived for many years on Big 
Island. 

Joshua Vandruff was an early pioneer and 
lived on what was then called Lowell Island. 
His sons, Joshua. Jr., John, Henry, Jacob and 
James, all had farms on Big Island, where 
thev lived for many years. Other early 
settlers in the townshi]i were William Dick- 
son and Col. John Dickson, the latter for 
many j^ears justice of the peace; James 
Johnston, G. W. Heflin, James Dickson, Ira 
Whitehead, N. I). I^radley, Wm. Young. 
Daniel Pinkley, David Browiilee, Garret 
Davis, John Bulley, Morgan Fergurson, A. 
L. Buck and N. Bruner. 

The township has an abundant supjily of 
coal ami wood and is traversed by two rail- 
roads — the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific to 
Peoria, and the Cable and Mercer County 
Branch. The Peoria line was built in 1854. 
It also has an electric car line, connecting 
Milan, Black Hawk's Watch Tower, Rock 
Island, Moline and DaA-enjiort. The cele- 
brated Hennepin Canal, connecting the Great 
Lakes and the Mississippi River, is completed 
through this township. 

It also has one of the finest water powers 
in the state and some time it will, no doubt, 
he more largely utilized. 

At one time there were three paper mills 
on Rock River and two large flouring mills, 
one owned by James Johnston and one by 
the Sears company. All were consumed by 
fire. 

There are now two churches in this town- 
ship ;ind eight school houses. No other 
to\vn.><hip has better educational facilities. 

.Mariin Whistler was the first merchant to 
open a general store in the township. 

The stars and stripes were first hoisted here 
in the summer of 1S05, by Lieutenant Pike. 

'I'ho first land entered was on October 19, 
lS2i), by William T. P.rashcr, covering the 
location now occu|iic(l by the cemetery. 

Black Hawk Township coni])risos a section 
noted not oidy for the i)eauty of its landscape, 



but also for being an exceedingly [irosjierous 
farming comnnmity. The bottom land is 
very rich and produces immense crops of 
corn, hay, potatoes and small grain, while the 
finest apples, peaches, grapes and berries are 
raised in large abundance, and all find ready 
market close at hand. It is not surpassed — 
perhaps not equalled — by any other section 
of the state, or the great west. Farmers, as 
a rule, are well-to-do, prosperous and happy, 
and a happy home amidst such surround- 
ings means an extension of life. The south 
side of the township has a line of beautiful 
bluffs and are made praetical from being 
underlaid with a vein of most excellent coal, 
from four to six feet thick. 

With rich soil, beautiful scenery, cheap 
fuel, clear nmning streams, extensive water 
power, transportation by rail, both steam, and 
electric, by river and canal; nearby markets 
and a healthful climate; what more can be 
desired, and what is there lacking to make it 
an ideal farming community? 

With farms paid for, and carrying an 
unquestioned value of $100 to .fl'iO an acre, 
and with good health, why should not our 
farmers be contented and consequently happy. 

LOWELL 

Was located on the north shore of Lowell 
Island — now Vandruff's Island. It was sur- 
veyed in June, 1844, and (ilat approved by 
comity commissioners the second of Sep- 
tember, 1844, and filed of record the 16th of 
October, 1844. The plat was executed for 
Joshua Vandruff, Zadoc Kalbaugh and 
Thomas Patterson, and was four blocks long, 
east and west, and three blocks wide, facing 
north on the main branch of the Rock River, 
about where the first present north wagon 
bridge crosses the river. Regularly named 
streets were Kalbaugh, Patterson and Mill 
running north to the ilam. Lemuel Andrews 
kept the first store. It was short li\-ed. An 
old canal was built here in the early forties, 
to surmomit the Rock River rapids; for the 



HISTORIC RUCK ISLAND COUNTY 



1U5 



constnifticin of which the finveriiinoiit appi-ci- 
priateil SIOO.OOO in jioid. Font prints still 
show where it exist Cil. 

VILLACK Ol'" MILAN. 

On the south shore of llock Rix-cr, in 
Black Hawk Township, stands Milan, (lei'i\- 
ing a thi'ifty trade from her adjacent farniint:; 
country. Cheap coal and abundant water 
])ower make Milan essentially a, nian\ifactur- 
ing ]ioint, though sad to relate, a ncniises has 
apparently ])ursued every establishment ever 
erected there. 

Milan was originally called Camden, and 
wa.s laid out by ^\'illiam l)ickson in 1.S43. In 
184S the name was changed to Camden Mills, 
on account of there being another Camden in 
Schuyler County. In ISTO the na.me was 
changed to Milan. The place was incor- 
porated as a village in ISti.^. 

When white settlers first ari-ixcd here, the 

famous Sac village of Black Hawk st I on 

the op].)osite side of the river. A colony of 
Kiekapoos occupied the south shore below 
the town. In 1828 Kinnah Wells came here 
and settled among the Indians, who did not 
leave their village till iSol. Joshua \'au- 
druff came the year following. I'or two or 
three years these pioneers and Indians li\ed 
together, and had their friendly intercourse 
and their disputes and ([uarrels. Mr. \'au- 
druff built where Sears' .Mill now is, and lix'ed 
there until he built liis hmise on the island 
which l)ears his name, and whei'e he died 
and was Ijuried about iN.i'.l. His remains 
were afterwards taken up and remo\ed to 
Chipi)iannock Cemetery. Mr. Wells died 
suddenly in 1852, bein,g found dcail in his 
buggy on the road. 

William Dickson, the foimder of the town, 
was the father of Colonel (ieorge Dickson, 
for many years justice of the peace in Milan. 
He was born in Ncwburg, N. Y., .March 27. 
1783. His father was a Ca])tain in th(> 
llevolutionary war. His grandfather and 
grandmother were nuu'dered by the Indians 



and Hutler's Rangers in the famous Cherry 
\'alley massacre. After the Revolution the 
father of William Dickson moved to West- 
moreland Conn ty.Pennsyh'ania. where William 
was brought tip till he was eighteen, when he 
moved to a farm in Erie County, Pennsyl- 
\'ania, near the shore of Lake Erie. Here he 
was married and became cpiite a noted man 
of his time, being at one time a meml^er of 
the Hoard of Canal Conunissioners of the 
State of Pennsylvania. He raised a family 
of nine children, seven sons and two daugh- 
ters. In the siiriiig of lSo4 he \'isited this 
portion of Illinois <in horseback, and returned 
home in the fall. In 1S36 he returned here, 
and was one of the proprietors of the famous 
"Rock Island City" scheme. In tlie s])ring 
of 1837 he brought his family here, and 
resided on tlie site of the old Sac town till 
1S()7, when he sold tci 1). P. Sears and moved 
to Milan, where he dicil .\o\'ember 25, 1869. 

Colonel .lohn Dickson was born in Erie 
County, Pennsyhania, Lebrnai'y G, 1S13, and 
came to Milan in isll. 

The Dickson and Pruiiot i'douring Mill wa.s 
built in 1S43 by .lames Dickson and Felix R. 
Brunot. In 1S4() Howard and \\'eeks built 
a saw mill just below the abo\e. In 1848 it 
was converted into a fhun-ing mill and carding 
machine liy James Di(d<son and X. D. Prad- 
le\-. In 1S43 Joshua \'andrnfT and Zadoc 
Calbaugh built a saw and llouring mill at the 
noi'th end of the daiu on X'andruff's Island. 
The flouring mill was slru(d< by lightning and 
burned in 1.S57; the saw mill became delapi- 
dated and fell into disuse, and liually rotted 
down about 1.S70. 

Today Milan has no manufactories to speak 
of. and ser\-es simply as a village trading 
point for the farming connnunity. The glory 
of her earlier days, the immense investments 
and the rugged and acti\(' life which once 
made for Milan a I'eputalion long to be 
remembered, the faclories and shops which 
once rejiresented upw:irds of a million ami 



106 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



a-half of dollars — all have become a memory 
and constitute a ground for reminiscence only. 

COAL VALLEY TOWNSHIP AND 
VILLAGE. 

Coal Valley dates its staple history from the 
spring of 1857. Large deposits of coal in 
the vicinity, and the opening of mines, fixed 
its location. The first small coal mine was 
known as the "Bailey Coal Bank." 

In 1856 Ben Harper, S. S. Guyer and 
David Hakes acquired a large tract of land 
containing large deposits of coal; they organ- 
ized a company to mine coal and construct a 
railroad to get it to market — the railroad 
being completed from Coal Valley to Rock 
Island in October, 1857. The first coal 
loaded on a railway car at the Valley was 
handled by Robert Lee, afterwards super- 
intendent of the mines of the Coal Valley 
Mining Company at Coal Valley, Cable and 
Sherrard; and considered one of the best coa' 
mine experts in the state. At present he is 
resting on the laurels of a good honest busy 
life. 

Opening the mines gave a strong impetus 
to the new town. The first business house 
was a general store, owned by Mr. Herrick; 
afterwards by Bailey and Boyle, then by 
Cable, Lee and Bardsley. The building is 
quite a landmark. The first physician to 
locate was Dr. Thomas Martin, coming from 
Camden Mills. The first meat market by 
Mr. Grantz, then by Thomas Corns, who 
came from Camden Mills and to Rock Island 
County in 1851. The first lumber yard was 
owned by Frederick Weyerhaeuser, the great 
lumber and timber king. 

The first blacksmith was David Rowland, 
who was assisted by Murty Connor. 

The first carpenters and builders were John 
Pett}-, William Myers and Richard and P. 
Callahan. 

The first hotel was kept by L. Evans, and 
called the Coal Valley House. 



The first Ijrick were manufactured by John 
T. Hass. 

About 1859 Philander L. Cable of Rock 
Island purchased an interest in the mines of 
Harper, Guyer & Hakes, and later acquired 
entire control, with R. R. Cable an interest. 
The Cables never having any trouble with the 
miners: helping them to get their homes; and 
it is understood, dividing with them the 
market price of coal — one-third to the firm, 
one-third to the railroad and one-third to the 
miners; which would seem mutually equitable 
and just. The first shoemaker was Peter 
Schroeder, a German. The first settlers in 
the Valley were largely foreigners — Welch, 
English, German and Irish; but a more 
hospitable community was never known. 
Latch strings of all the homes were always 
on the outside. The first mail to Coal 
Valley was by stage. Mr. Dack of Rock 
Island was carrier. Mail was received once 
a week. The first postoffice was kept in 
what is now J. K. Stenstrom's shoe store. 
The first postmaster was Thomas Jones, who 
was also mine boss for Hakes, Guyer & Harper. 
After the railway was built the mail was 
brought twice a week, then three times a 
week, and in the early sixties became daily. 
At one time Frederick Weyerhaeuser was 
postmaster; the present incumbent being 
Thomas J. Mur])hy, who has filled the position 
for ten years. 

The Coal Valley Mining Company's mines 
being nearly exhausted, the company sought 
a new field at Cable. After the removal of 
the company from the Valley, a number of 
other mines were opened by the Black 
Diamond Coal Company; John J. Pryce and 
others. There is a vast field of coal, within 
a radius of two miles of the town; the owners 
of which are the Guiiity heirs, the Hillier 
heirs, Robert Sommerson, Thomas Lees, the 
Black Diamond Coal Company, Dr. W. F. 
Myers and the Banner Coal Company. 

Besides the coal mines they have a fine 
farming country; merchants of all kinds; a 



RURAL TOWNSHIP 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 107 

grain elevator; two large general stores; two section 1. His ]ilace was soon known as 

meat markets; grocery stores; two Mack- ''Satan's Kingdom," and even to this day 

smith sho])s; shoe store; drug store; harber the land he held as a squatter is called "The 

sho]); restaurant; li\pi'y an<l feed stahle; Kingdom." 

brick yard; and all ti) make up a flourishing In 1850 Francis Bailey settled on a farm 

wide awake conununil\-. in section 11, and soon thereafter a school 

house was built on his land, which is still 

kiKiwn as the Bailey School House. 

The first settlors of Rural, wliirh formerly In ISol William and Charles Bailey, with 

formed part of Coal \'aU('y Township, wore their families, lived in the only log house in 

Thomas and Davis GooiUow, brothers, who wiial is now Coal Valley. 

l)uilt the first house on section 20. .bihn .lohn C. Bailey relates that when he arrived 

Farlow being the second, who came from in Rock Islantl, in 1S4!), that he labored for 

Pre-emption Townshi]i, at which jilace he §4.00 ))er month and got a grocery order for 

was the first settler. He built the small house pay. The family settled in Rural Township 

on section 30 of this townsliip. The first in iSol. The\- broke prairie for several 

child born was a son of John Farlow, in IS'.V.). years with oxen of from four to si.\ to a 

The first marriage was that of l)a\iil (lood- jilow. Fpon one occassion they broke forty 

low and Nancj- Farlow, Before the year ac'res of ground for a neighbor and received 

1840 the following persons came to this as remimeration the munificent sum of $80.00 

township: A. L. and A. X, Sayre. .1. .M, all in sih-er 50 cent pieces. At another time 

Wilson, Capt. . I. A. .Jordan and Daniel \'alen- they broke a like number of acr(>s for the 

tine, ('apt. .Ionian and .Mr. \'alentinc li\'ed same money and consiilered that they were 

just, over the line in Pre-emptiiui, but most making money rai)idly, 

of their land being in Rural they finally built I50WI IXC TOWXSHII' 

in this township. The first school was taught i, ,■ r„ , • , , , , 

1 ,, ,, rp • . , , rr.1 £ i l-iowlmg lownsliip IS bomided bv Rural on 

bv Seth Irego, m a private house. The first , i, i ■ 

_;, , , 1 I, ■ iL. i<- 1 . 1 ^"'-' f'^'^*' I'^dgnigton on the west, north by 

school house was built m 1S46, bv contribn- ,,, , tt ■ , , , ,, 

,• ,. ii .■ ,, ■ " /. i T Black Hawk and south bv Mercer County, 

tions trom the following persons: (;ipt. .1. m, . ,,.■ -^ 

. ,„. I, .,, . V M w I M ^' ^''•' '■"'iiiti'v i'-^ quite rolling, with sijlendid 

A. Jordan, Albert .A., .Alonzo S. and M. Savre. ,, i i r i 

T n, ,,,.1 i> • 1 X- 1 ,• r wii- larms, and plent\- of timber land and prairie. 

J. M. Wilson, Daniel \aleii1inc and William „„ ,. , ■ ,,. ^^ 

p • , r,,, , i -1 . I ^'"' '"'•'^' settlers were Mr. Bowling, John 

Crist. 1 hese persons also contributed nionev rr , ,, ,,.•,,. m , ,, , ., , ■ 

, .1 /; .1 . 1 !ir e.i 1 I " Ivndall, William 1 vmlall and Fdmond Crop- 

to secure the fir.st teacher. Mr. Sliedil. • . „ ,>-■,,'■ r., , ,, 

per, m I.S.5S, William Tvndall came to th 



e 



Robert Middleham, I'atrick Campbell, .,,.,,. 

TT 1, /„ , 11--11 • Ai- 1 , coiintv 111 lS.:i.'3, hvmg 111 Stephenson over two 

Henrv Brown, Charles Wilkinson, Michael ' , , ,, , tI • , 

Tj I, ' ui r T^ 1 1 M 1 ,- 1 years. In 1841 James, David and John 

liallman, rliilip Deal and .■\lexander Cordon, ,,, , 

,, ,. , 1 1 ,■ i- • I • I ( larke ami .lolin .lolinston and Cliristoi)her 

all ot whom had tamilies, arru'cil m what is . ,, „ . , , , . 



now known as Rural Township, about tin 
year 1848. At that time the nearest liabita 



Armstrong all from Ireland - formed the 
next settlement, known as the Clarke settle- 



1- ■ -1 ^ Tir-1 ,ri 1 Ai-i, ^ nient, m the southeastern part of the town- 

tion was SIX nules, at Milan (Camden Mills at , . ,, ,, t- • , , , 

,, , ,■ \ T> 1 T 1 1 *i .1 . ^"'P- Curtiss .McKiught settled .soon after, 
that time.) Rock Islanil tluMi was the nearest 

postoffice. 

Alexaiuler Bailey, who won the appcllal imi 

of "Old Satan" among his neighljors, was IIDCIXCTOX TOWXSHIP 

also among the early Rural settlers. He This is one of the oldest settlements in the 

squatted on and held the southwest corner of coiuity. Three score and ten years have gone 



The first school was held about 1844 or 1845, 
in a small frame house on secti(ui 26. 



108 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



into the past since the first white settlers set 
foot upon its soiL 

The first white chihh-en born here are now 
among the old men and women of our times. 
They are the Dunlaps, Edgingtons, Titter- 
ingtons, Montgomeries, Parks. Parmenters 
and Eberharts. Only a few of them reside 
here now to tell the story of their childhood 
days, llany have removed to other parts of 
the globe, and some have passed the bourne 
whence none return, and so the name of 
Edgington has now a lialo of sacredness 
about it. 

The pioneers have all jiassed away, and the 
old homes are inhal)ited by members of the 
old families or strangers. 

The first settlers were James Robison, 
Joseph Dunlap and Daniel Edgington. It 
was in the summer of 1834, when Andrew 
Jackson was president, and the State of 
Illinois had attained the age of sixteen years, 
that they planted homestead stakes. Robi- 
son moved up from Warren County, Illinois, 
and Dunlap and Edgington came prospecting 
from Steubenville, Ohio. Immigrants came 
overland in wagons, or down the Ohio and 
up the Mississippi I)y steamboat. Pros- 
pectors came mostly on horseback. Robison 
and Dunlap located on section 5 and Edging- 
ton on section 6. On each section good 
springs of water were foimd. Where Jacob 
L. Harris now lives, James Robison built his 
cabin, and returned for his family that same 
fall. 

About the center of the section, on the 
east border, Joseph Dunlap built a double 
log house. He and Edgington returned to 
Steubenville and brought their families. 
They came in the spring of 183.5. Those 
three cabins fortned a sort of triangle, with 
a path leading from one to the other. Such 
was the begniiiing of the settlement of 
Edgington Township. 

George W. Kell and Henry l'>bcrhart and 
family, came in the spring of 1835. Charles 
Eberhart and family, John Titterington and 



family, with Moses and Charles Titterington, 
came in the fall of 1835. The Eberharts 
coming from New Jersey and the Tittering- 
tons from Ohio. 

In 1836 B. McNutt and family from Ohio, 
William Snell and famih' from Mississijijii, 
Daniel Montgomery from Pennsylvania. Soon 
after came Alexander Hazlitt and family, 
W. D. Hatton, Parley Laflin and family, 
Joseph Asquith and family. In 1838 George 
Parmenter, Allen Parmenter, Lorenzo Par- 
menter, Seth Parmenter, H. H. Parks, A. J. 
Webster and Timothy Dulton increased the 
settlement. 

Daniel Edgington was the first justice of 
the peace. The business of the justice was 
not very onerous in those days. Squire 
Edgington, however, had the honor of per- 
forming the first marriage ceremony that was 
solemnized; the parties united by him were 
John P. Cooper and Miss Mina Pace. 

The first school was taught in the cabin 
home of Mrs. Amanda Cushman, on section 
6, just opposite the present residence of Geo. 
T. Harris. Mrs. Cushman was the teacher. 

The first postoffice was kept in the Cush- 
man home, and Mr. C. D. Cushman was 
postmaster. It was not against the law to 
scratch matches on mail boxes, for there 
was no matches nor mail boxes. There were 
no postage stamps, no envelopes, no money 
orders, no registering of letters. 

The first storekeeping was by George D. 
Parmenter, in his own residence at the "four 
corners," where the Edgington village is 
located. 

The first and only grist mill, which was a 
great thing for the neighborhood, was con- 
structed by Joseph Dunlap, at his own 
residence, in a very ]irimitive manner. The 
building was of logs. Its size was sixteen 
feet square, one story. The burrs were two 
granite boulders. The mill was run by horse 
power. Its grinding capacity was about 
fifty bushels per day. To make a fine quality 
of flour the bolting was done by hand with 



// / S T HI r R () C K J S L A \ I) (' O i ' A' 7' 5' 



109 



a hair seive. But the wlieat floiir was, f(ir 
the most part, a first chiss quaHty of wliat is 
now called graham. Much corn meal was 
used. Neighbors on coming to the uiiii 
usually furnished their own horse ]iower, and 
did their own grinding, and the proprietor 
took no toll. 

EDGINGTON VILLAdI'; 

Is an imincori)orated village, situate in the 
Town of Edgington. In the early forties and 
up to the coming of the railroad it was quite 
a thriving place. George 1). Parmenter 
opened the first store in 1.S43. in his house, a 
log cabin. He afterwards built what was 
calletl the old store, selling out to Isaac 
Negus and E. Burrall. The firm of Xegus 
A- Burrall sidjsequently built a larger and 
better building. They were succeeded by 
Charles R. Ainsworth, and ho by Hufus 
Walker. In 1855 Fish iV Lee commenced 
business here, afterwards locating in Rock 
Island. The railroad on the cast cut off 
the early tratle, and conditions now are much 
more quiet. 

TAYLOR RIDtlK VILLAGE 

Is not incorporated. It is situated in 
Bowling and Edgington Townshi|)s. The 
Rock Island ami Mercer County Railro^id was 
com]ilctcd to this ])lace in September, 1S76, 
and on the day of its comjiletion twenty-three 
cars of stock were shijiped to Chicago; and 
on the following day seventeen car loads. 
The village is surroundeil by a good agricul- 
tural country. It was laid out by ,1. L. 
Frankeberger, a civil engineer employed on 
the railroad, and contains two blocks and 
twenty-fo>n' lots, two stores, a bhu'ksmith 
sho|), an eating house, jiostoflice, drug store, 
hotel, elevator and excellent conveniences for 
currying on grain and stock business. The 
])eo]ile along the line of the railroad have 
shown a remarkable degree of enterprise and 
liberality in cimtribiiting to the constructing 



of this road. Mr. .James Taylor gave the 
right of way here and .'?;i.l)(l(). and the ]ilace 
was named Taylor Ri<lgp in his honor. The 
railroad crosses the village transversely. 

VILLAGE OF REYNOLDS. 

Wait and Walker originally ])latted a por- 
tion of Section 36, of the township of Edging- 
ton, for a village, and gave it the name of 
Reynolds, in honor of i^lisha 1'. Reynolds, the 
railroad contractor and long time resident of 
the City of Rock Island. The first plat con- 
tained three l)locks of forty lots. The 
village as at present is situated in two counties 
and four townshi]is. Edgington and Bowling 
Townshijxs of Rock Island County, and 
Perryton and Pre-emption Townshi]is of 
Mercer County. The Rock Island and 
Mercer County Railroad was com|ileted to 
Reyiu)lds Octol)er G, 1876. On that day a 
lialf-mile of track was finished by 3 o'clock 
and at 6 o'clock thirty-three cars of stock 
were sliip|ied to Chicago. A glorious day's 
result. The first building erected was the 
dejiot building, by Rufus Walker, and where 
was sold the first goods. W. D. Goodner 
erected the first hotel, the Commercial House, 
in 1876. The first blacksmith was H. 
Webster, winter of 1876. The first harness 
maker was Emil Helpenstell, in 1877. .Joseph 
Flora the first wagon maker in 1N77. The 
first physician. Dr. F. Stuart in 1877. The 
first grain buyers were Wait i^- Walker; load- 
ing grain directly into the cars from the 
farmers' wagons. The |)ostollice was estal:>- 
lished in 1S76, with R. B. Olmstead its first 
])ostmaster. 

School District No. 7 was formed in 1877, 
the first school being taught in the house of 
Weaver Kuhns by Miss .Jenny Ivuhns. .At 
present they have a fine commodious school 
house. The school is a graded one. 

An election held at the bank in Reynolds, 
February 28, 1891, for village organization, 
resulted as follows; sixty-seven votes l)eing 
cast: Thirty-three \-otes for organization, 



110 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



aiul tliirty-four votes against organization. 
May 17, 1894, ii]ion petition to tlie County 
Court of thirty-one legal voters of the district, 
June 2, 1894, was apjiointed the date to hold 
another election on the proposition of village 
organization. Said election resulted, fifty- 
six for incorporation, and twelve against. 
July 3, 1894, J. P. Johnston, W. G. Davis, 
J. M. Walker, Gust Olson, W. P. Kuhns and 
R. P. Wait were elected village trustees. 

TOWN OF ANDALUSIA. 

Andalusia is one of the historic towns of 
Rock Island County. It is located on the 
Mississippi River, about ten miles west of the 
City of Rock Island. The township has 
about six miles of frontage on the river, but 
has less depth, Ijeing less than half the size 
of a congressional township. Though small 
in size it is one of the hustling townships of 
the county. Its history dates from the 
earliest settlement of the country. One of 
the first 'settlers was Captain 15. W. Clark, 
father of Captain W. L. Clark, of Buffalo, 
Scott County, Iowa, now the oldest living 
first settler in the State of Iowa. 

A quarter section of land, which forms a 
part of the present town plat of Andalusia, 
was entered by Captain B. W. Clark, and in 
the fall of 1832 he built a hewn log house at 
the west end of what is now the Village of 
Andalusia. This house when first built was 
the only one Ijetween that of Joshua Van- 
druff on Vandruff's Island, at the foot of 
Black Hawk's Watch Tower, and Erastus 
Dennison's, at the u])per "Yellow Banks," 
now New Boston. The logs used in Captain 
Clark's house at Andalusia are still doing 
good service. They were taken down long 
years ago and hauled across the river on the 
ice to the Town of Buffalo, and at the present 
form, the west half of Henry Si)ringmeier's 
residence at that place. 

The next house built here was on the 
Sulphur Springs farm in the spring of 1834, 
by Hackley Sans. The next was built by 



John Vanatta, during the fall of 1834. This 
was afterwards bought and occu])ied by 
Jonathan Buffum, and for half a century was 
known as the old Buffum place, now owned 
by A. Hofer. This same fall Mr. Dunlap, 
Daniel and John Edgington came to this part 
of the new west and located lands just south 
of Andalusia. They soon returned to Ohio, 
and in the spring of 1835 chartered a boat 
and brought their families and household 
goods and became permanent residents. 
They also brought with them the elder 
McNutt and his son John, a carpenter; 
Moses and Charles Titterington and two other 
lirothers and their families; also Charles and 
Harr}- Eberliart and families, and Adolph 
Dunlap, a noted gunsmith. James Robison 
and the Parmenters came a little later. 

Clark's Ferry, which was operated between 
Andalusia and Buffalo, became the most 
noted river crossing above St. Louis. Many 
of the first settlers of this section of the west 
came down the Ohio River by boat and then 
up the Mississi]ipi to Clark's Ferry. Many 
of the first settlers of Scott, Muscatine, Cedar 
and Linn Counties, Iowa, crossed the river 
here. Captain Clark operated this ferry 
until 1836, when he sold his interests on this 
side of the river, including the ferry to Colonel 
Stephenson, W. S. Hamilton and a Mr. White- 
side, of Galena, Illinois, for .|17,00t). These 
men, with others, laid out the town of 
Stephenson, afterward Rock Island. They 
also laid out the town of Rockport, the east 
side of which was Fancy Creek, and the west 
side the creek on the west side of the Sulphur 
Springs farm, and the south line at least a 
mile from the river. They had it platted on 
paper in a most gorgeous and attractive 
manner and took it to Washington, D. C, 
where, it is said, they sold thousands of 
dollars worth of town lots to such men as 
Daniel Webster, Henry Clark, John C. Cal- 
hoim. General George W. Jones and other 
jirominent peo])le, none of whom ever saw 
the lots. Rockport only grew on paper and 



HISTORIC ROC K I S L A N I) C O U N T Y 



111 



finally died a slow and easy death, was sold 
for taxes and bought up by Napoleon Bona- 
parte Buford, who relaid a ])ortii)n of it into 
lots and named the new town Andalusia. 

Their pubilc schools have the well earned 
reputation for being amongst the best in the 
county. 

The Memorial Association is composed of 
old soldiers, old settlers and others. Its 
organization was effected by the members of 
Alfred Bing Post, G. A. R. The idea was to 
have an association that would be historical 
in character and in time, when the old 
soldiers have all passetl away, would succeed 
the Post in a way, and aid in perpetuating 
the memories of war heroes and also of the 
historic characters conspicuous in the early 
settlement of the country. This organization 
sets an example worthy to be followed in 
other communities. 

Captain W. L. Clark, in his roiuiniscent 
sketches, tells of a wedding ]«u-ty in the early 
days, where the knot was tied by the late 
Daniel Edgington, wheii a young man and 
justice of the peace. .John Cooiier and Jane 
Fay were the contracting parties. They 
lived in Buffalo, which was then in an unor- 
ganized territory, so they came to Rock 
Island Comity for a license and were marrietl 
on this side of the river. The young justice 
had never performed a ceremony of this kind 
before and was more or less ner\-ous. Thus 
it ha])pened that he forgot to ask all the 
usual questions and when the consent of the 
bride had Ijeen signified he ])ronomiced them 
man and wife without ]iroi)ounding the usual 
queries to the groom. Mr. C'ooper, who 
lived many years in Buffalo often asserted 
that he had been but half married. 

An interesting statement by Captain Clark 
is the following: 

"Since boyhood I have liveil in the territory 
known as the Louisiana Purchase, State of 
Illinois, Michigan Territory, Wisconsin Terri- 
tory, Minnesota Territory, Black Hawk Pur- 
chase, Iowa Territory, and the State of Iowa, 



and all this time only moved one mile. I 
might add that I have a friend, 'Timber 
Woods,' of Burlington, Iowa, whose oldest 
son was born in Michigan Territory, his 
second son in Wisconsin Territory, his third 
son in Iowa Territoi'y, and his fourth son in 
the State of Iowa, and all were born in the 
same log cabin, standing all the time on the 
same spot." 

VILLAGE OF ANDALUSIA. 

Captain B. W. Clark was the original owner 
of the village jilat, which was a part of the 
olil paper city of Rockport. In 1843 Samuel 
Kenworthy opened a store in his log cabin, 
which stood near the river and ferry landing. 
In 1845 Colonel N. B. Buford bought at tax 
sale the lots of Rockport, built a store and 
warehouse, ami named the place .\nd;dusia. 
In 1866 S. M. Boney had the i)lace re-surveyed 
and laid out into lots and Ijlocks with streets 
named. In early days tlie village did a, good 
prosperous business with the farmers and 
steaml)oat shiiiiiing trade. An election was 
held May 1(1, 1884, in the Town of Andalusia, 
at the liall of Robert Ross, for village organi- 
zation; the total vote being seventy. For 
\illage organization, tliii'ty-nine \'otes: against 
thirty-one votes. \'ote was canvassed and 
apjiroved May 12, 1884, by County Judge 
Lucian Adams and Justice of the Peace, 
David Hawes, and James W. Ballard. The 
third day of June, 1884, an election was held 
in the village of Andalusia for six \-illage 
trustees, seventy-five votes lieing cast. Trus- 
tees elected were William Smith, John H. 
Brookman, James W. Ballard, Benjamin 
Dill, J. H. Britton and H. Mosher. 

BUFFALO PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP. 

This town, under original organization, was 
named Buffalo; afterward changed to Copjier, 
and then to its present name. 

Its northern boundary is tlie Mississip]>i 
River, the southern Mercer Count v, eastern 



112 



■ HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the To\vnshi])s (if Edsiington and Amlalusia, 
and west by Drury Township. 

John Edgington was the first settler, com- 
ing here in 1834 from Jefferson County, Ohio, 
with his wife, who was Miss Susan Crabs, 
born in the same county, just married and 
together they came west. John Kistler was 
the next to locate in the vicinity, and who 
became quite jirominent in k)cal affairs. 

Samuel Sloan came in 1839 from Pennsyl- 
\-ania. 

The first boy born was a son to John and 
Susan Edgington, March 20, 1835, named 
James. The first school was in 1840, taught 
by a venerable Scotchman. A very thrifty 
class of the ]ieople were Germans, who came 
in an early day. The township is composed 
of prairie land and timber, about equally, 
with numerous fine and well imjiro^-ed farms. 
It is said that Buffalo Prairie derives its name 
from the fact that in the early settlement 
days a great portion of the ]irairie land had 
been long and strongly trodden and stamped 
by the buffalo in their early grazing groimds, 
together with their deep trail paths leading 
to their drinking (ihices. 

BIFFALO PRAIRIE 

Is situated in Buffalo Prairie Township, 
and not incorporated. Is a small place, with 
])ostoffice and two or three houses. 

DRURY TOWNSHIP. 

Drury Township was named in honor of the 
Drury family, the earliest pif)neers of the 
townshi)). It is situated in the southwestern 
corner of the county and embraces one full 
congressional township and parts of three 
others. It contains some very rough and 
broken ui)land and some smooth bottom land; 
much of it,, however, is of the best quality 
as to soil, and there are as some fine farms in 
this township as can be foimd in the county. 

Some of the early settlers were: Miles, 
Isaiah, Reynolds, Kli, Silas and James Drury, 
William and Ithamar Reynolds, Jacob A. 



Seiver, William Huff, I., B. Elijah and James 
Essex, Matthew and Jeremiah LeQuatte, 
William Womacks, Solomon Simpson, An- 
thony Ricketts, John Ballard, John Har- 
liaugh, James McPherson, Harry Hampton, 
S. Prentiss, William Hays, John Boruff, 
Joseph and Antoine Blair, L. Y. Reed and 
M. H. Johnson. 

The settlers who came to this country in 
the thirties and the early forties to carve 
homes for themselves and families found they 
had undertaken no light and easy task. They 
' had many diHiciUties to overcome, many 
hardships to endure. They indeed lived the 
"simple life," in rude log cabins and with few 
comforts, while luxuries were not thought of. 
All settlers were neighbors, although they 
might Ije miles ajiart. All were on a common 
level as to mode of life and largely as to 
resources. All were"horney handed sons of 
toil." Their op]iortimities for mental growth 
and cultvu'e were of their own creation, and 
evolved from their own indi\'idualities. 
Nature was their teacher and natm-e's lessons 
were well learned. In those early days tliere 
were no schools for the children, no churches, 
no doctors, no mills, no stores, no roads, no 
liridges; just the rich soil, groves of timber, 
pure air and water, and a healthful climate. 
But they were hopeful, energetic, industrious 
and persevering. Years rolled by, other set- 
tlers came, schools and churches, roads and 
liridges, railroads, cities and villages were 
built, and those who have lived until the 
present day have witnessed a growtli and 
development that has been indeed marvelous. 

Other reminiscences would undoubtedly 
find, many times, almost similar occurrences. 

Mr. John L. Wray, when a boy, worked from 
six in the morning until sundown for fifty cents 
a day, which was considered good wages. 

Mr. J. A. Seiver speaks of "planing" corn; 
that is, took ears of corn, before getting too 
hard, and shaved them across the bottom of a 
jack plane and shaved off the kernels. The 
corn shavings making good mush and very 



// / S T O H I C R (J C K 1 S LAND C U N T Y 



11:3 



gddd hreail. Sliortly after he was niarried lie 
went to C'ainl)ri(lf>,e, Indiana, for a liousekeep- 
ing outfit. He got a Dutch (i\en. a skillet and 
an iron kettle, and these aniounlecl to their 
cooking utensils for some time. School 
teachers received so much a pupil instead of :i 
salary. A log caliin on the Miles Drury place 
was used for a school house, and another one 
on Section 29, commonly known as the" hull 
pen." Mile.s Drury 's barn was used as a 
church. The people were ohliged to go to 
DiMiry's handing, si-\ miles away, for (heir 
mail, and paid twenty-five cents postage on 
every letter. Mr.s. Rosman says when they 
went vi.siting, oxen and a lumber wagon was 
their carriage. They sheareil their sheep 
before they sold them in Indiana, and cloth 
wa.s made from this wool by her mother, who 
carded, spun and wove it by hand. 

Reynolds Drury settled at Drury 's Landing. 
where he opened a general store, bought grain 
and pork and did a flourishing business. \ 
jjostoffice was established thei-e at an earl\- 
day and it became for a time the principal 
market place foi- this section of the couiilry. 
Hut the building of railroads chan,!j,eil business 
centers and residents of the town now trade 
at Muscatine. 

Isaiah and Silas Drui-y had a grist mill, a 
saw null ;ind a wool-carding machine, located 
on Section 1*0, on Copperas Creek, built as 
nearly as can be recalled, in \S'.\~ or is;-!,S. 

Dr. Reynolds was the first physician in 
this township and in the lower end of the 
county. 

Residents of Drury Township boast of 
having some of as good, and as fine bi-ed lixc 
stock as can be found anywhere, liut to 
Buffalo I'rairie Townshiji lielongs the dis- 
tinction of raising " Alex," kiuiwn for man\' 
years as the faste.st horse in the woi'ld. 
Daniel Hayes had the honor of breeiling and 
rai.sing this speedy animal. Her time was 

•2-mH- 

There is one rural free delivery mail route 
in the townshi]) and three iiostofiices. The 



latter are located as follows: Ferdinand, in 
the southeast corner of the township, with 
Mrs. Ryan as i:)ost mistress; Foster, on Section 
17, with .1. II. Foster as jiostmaster; and Wray- 
\ille. in the center, with Helen Wray as post- 
mistress. The name " Wrayville," was sug- 
gested by .lames Hritton, wlu) was teaching 
school at that point, when a name was wanted. 
The educational advantages of the town- 
ship are fully e(pial to those of any agricid- 
tural commiinit)'. We ha\'e nine schools 
wliose districts ai'e wli"ll\' within the town- 
stii|), and two union schools, one being in the 
district reaching into .Mercer County. 

DRIRVS LANDINC. 

\\'as nothing but a steamboat landing, and 
at one time in the early days, considerable 
shij)))ing was done from its old warehouse, 
.Just liack of the Landing a \-ilIage named 
Richmond was |)latted b}- S. R. Drury, and 
filed .May 7. 18415, and affirmed by the County 
Commissioners. It was fi\'e blocks long, 
only one block deep, willi one side street 
sixty feet wiile. I'unnim; liack from the 
Mississi])pi l{i\('r. a slough bordering the 
place on b;)(h east and west sides. 

ILI.I.XOIS (TTV 

Is situated in b;illi Drui-y and Buffalo 
I'rairie Townships. It is not an inciu'porated 
\illage. Has a church, (wo stores, a hotel, 
blacksmith shop, postoflice with two rural 
nuiil routes, public school and public square, 
and about fifty houses, with a ])opulation of 
a little over two hundred. Illinois City was 
laid (Md at an early date, and ([uite exten- 
sively platted, its owiun' anticipating great 
results. For scune years the village thrived 
nicely, but when the railroad came a few 
miles away, tratle was diverted, and ruined 
the prospects of Illinois ("ity, 

CITY OF ROCK ISLAND. 

The City of Rock Island is a well laid-out 
and snl)stantially built town, containing a 



114 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



l)o])ulati(in of alxnit :V_', ()()(). In our recently 
issued city directory is ^iven 14,055 names; 
which by the visuid multiple of 2}.{ would 
give us a popvdation of 31,624. It i.s situated 
on tiie Illinois side of the Mississippi River, 
at the foot of the Upper Rapids, and just 
below the western extremity of Rock Island, 
from which it derives its name. The situa- 
tion of the city is one of the most beautiful 
that can be imagined. The bhifTs on the 
Iowa side ai)iiroach the shore, so that the 
City of Davenpoi't lies chiefly on the hillsides; 
on the Rock Island side the hills recede to a 
tlistance of more than a mile, leaving a broad 
and l)eautiful plain on which the city is built. 
This plain is sufficiently elevated to afford a 
dry and healthy location, and is boimded by 
the river in front, forming a graceful curve 
southward at the lower end of the city, and 
in the rear of the distant hills, which form a 
charming background to the city plat. Here 
the s]iace is amply sufhcient for a city of a 
h\mdred thousand inhabitants. From almost 
any point of observation in this city the views 
are fine. They combine a landscape of 
mingled art and nature: the cities of Daven- 
])ort. Rock Island and .Moline, with their tall 
spires and smoking factories; the Island of 
Iviick Ishunl in the broad liright channel of 
the .Mississi])])i, and connected with both 
shores by its magnificent iron liridges. Look- 
ing up the I'ivei' t(i\\ar<l the Island, the 
bridges, with their ])iers and spans, are seen 
stretching across a space of three quarters of 
a mile, at the point formerly occupied by old 
I'ort .Armstrong, while in the distance rises 
the tall smoke stacks of the (lovernment 
wdi'ks, the .\rsenal and .Armoi'y — almost 
hidden in the trees — which in this part of the 
Island have been preserved, and the grounds 
converted into a beautiful sylvan park- 
.U)oul the center of the lsl;ind. fi'om a tall 
(lag st.aff erected on tup of a high structural 
u-on pier, floats the Stai's and Stripes — symbol 
of nat ional aul lioritw 



The Island, the Arsenal works and grounds, 
and the wonderful improvements of the water 
power, constitute the chief ]3oints of attrac- 
tion to visitors at Rock Island. 

E.MU.Y HISTORY F.\RXH.\MSIiUI{C; .\.\D 

STEPHICXSOX. 

The City of Rock Island was jireceded by 
the Town of Farnhamsburg, the first settle- 
ment on this side of the river within the 
))resent City limits. Here the first house was 
built by Colonel Davenport and Russell 
Farnhaiu, partners in the Indian trade, in 
1826. It stood near the landing from old 
Fort Armstrong, about a l)lock south of the 
southern approach to the present railroad 
bridge over Sylvan Water, and on an elevated 
lime stone knoll. The county road from the 
east ran in front of it, and turned from the 
Moline road to the west of the Lemuel 
Andrews residence — now Honorable Ben T. 
Cable's residence — and down along where is 
now the Hurlington and Milwaukee Railroad 
tracks, imtil it reached Twenty-fourth Street, 



where it met 



Illinois Street, miw Second 



Avenue. The house was a noted place in the 
early history of Rock Island Ciuuity. Here 
the County (lo\'ernment 'was formed, the 
first elections held, and the first postoffice 
established; it was the seat of the Circuit and 
Cotmty Courts from 1833 to 1835. In the 
latter year, this original seat of justice of the 
county was sujierseded by the Town of 
Stephenson, and a ^■illage laiil out in what is 
now the lower part of the City of liock 
Island. It was laid out by the commissioners 
authorized by the Legislature to establish the 
seat of justice for Rock Island County, and 
contained the old county gro\mds, with a 
]iortion of the cotuity buildings. There are 
still standing many of the earlier buildings 
erected by the pioneers and here were inaug- 
urated many of the first institutions of Rock 
Island. Ste])henson was the cradle of Rock 
Island, the nursery of nuich of that intellec- 
tual and social life which has since e\pan(le<l 
into the larger and intensei life of the citw 



// I STO HI C ROC K I S LAND C U N T Y 



115 



The tDumlcr of the first new s|)a|n'r lifi'c, in 
ls.'3i), thus s]ieaks (if the old Town of Stepiicii- 
sdii, as it a]ipe:ire(l to liiiu in l,S4(l; 

"The iniiahitaiits of the (own ami its 
cm'ii'ons could not lie suriiasscil, if ciiuallcil. 
Iiy any city in the wesi . for men of infelli- 
,nence — courteous and kind in c\'ei-ythinii. 
()ur judiciary consisted of Judge Stone, who 
was \QY\ soon superseded by Judge Jirown; 
oui- Liar consisted of Joseph Knox, .Joseph 1!. 
Weils, .1. Wilson Drury, and H. C. Reynolds: 
the clerk of tlie court was an old bachelor, 
Joseph Conway, lirother of Miles Conw.ay, 
who, with a Mi'. Cooper, composed I he 
magistracy of the \'iilage: while oui' medical 
department was represented l.)y Doctor (Iregg 
alone, a man eminent in his profession. 

''There were three stores in the place, kept 
iiy John Mellcr, Lemuel Andrews and a Mr. 
Kauffman. Two more came afterwards. \-iz: 
Mr. Bond and Mr. Jloore. There was one 
tinning establishment, Lee it Chaml)erlin's; 
one saddler shop, .f. M. Frizzell's; one cabinet 
maker's and one gunsmith's shop: thi'ee 
taverns. i\b-. Hently's (u the river bank: 
Jiuffum's. back of tlie Court House Square: 
and the l{ock Jsl.and House on .Main Street, 
kept b\- \auCourt iV Iii'others. This was the 
leading hotel at that daw There was one 
restam'.ant, and one other, called a saloon bir 
the want of a more ap]ii'opria1e name. One 
minister of the gosjjel ( i^-eslnterian), l-ie\- 
erent Mr. Stewart, preached in a little school- 
house li:ick of |)octor (Iregg's residence on 
Main Street — our only church, lyceum and 
town hall. * ^= * The I'owars faiiiilw 
(iuarnseys and old Mr. \'andrutf. who li\-ed 
on the island in Rock River, and kept a, ferry 
at the Rapids, and something for the inner 
man, were among the first settlers of Rock 
Island. There were but few places of any 
note above (^uincy, Illinois. \\'here Keokuk 
now stands there was a trading post kept by 
a half-breed, who sold liquor to the Sac and 
l''ox Indians, and engaged in towing b.arges 
o\'er the ra)iids with liorses, to Fort .Mont- 



rose. \\ the east side of the .Mississi|)pi, at 
the heail of the rajiids, at a place then called 
Commerce, was situated a stone warehouse, 
where passin.g steamers discliargeil freight for 
the sill roimdiiig coiinliy. The .Mormons had 
.■I short time pi'e\iously been dri\'en out of 
Missouri, and they encamped on the west 
b.ank of the ri\-er, awaiting transportation to 
the Illinois side to build the City of Nauvoo, 
and their wagons and equipages presented the 
,appearance of an army encamped. The town 
of J'lUi-lingtou , Iowa, had but f(^w houses. * 
* * Pihioiiiinglon. now .Muscatine, con- 
tained about six houses, ami had the ap|iear- 
aiice of being a ver\' sickh' place, if I I'oidd 
judge from the looks of the citizens who came 
aboard the steamer."; 

This liad reference to the .Summer of 1,S.38, 
when the writer. Mr. C. McCirew, came u]) the 
ri\-er. In all the distance described, from 
C^uincy to the lead mines at (bdena, Stephen- 
son was then the most noted steamboat 
laiidin.g. Here foi' maii\' years, travelers 
fi'om the "Sangamon Country" and Fort 
Clark, reachcil the river on their 'way to 
(ialena, and the mineral regions north. 

TOWN OF ROCK LSLANM). 

The Town of Hock Island came into bein.g 
as a new edition of Stephenson, enlarged and 
re\-ised Iiy an act of the Legislature, ].iassed 
in March, 1S41. This act clianged the name 
to Ro(d< Island, and incorporated the latter 
as a town undei' a board of rune trustees. 
The trustees of the ohl \illage held over until 
the next annual election in September, but 
a special election was held on the first Mon- 
d.ay in .Xpi'il for four other trustees, who, 
together with the H\e old trustees, constituted 
the new board. The additional trustees 
elected were: John Huford, Cleorgo W. Lynde 
Lemuel .Andrews and James M. Bellows. 

J"he boundaries of this town, as definetl by 
this act, were made to include "all that por- 
tion of land contained within the limits of 
th(> plat of the tiiwn of .'-Stephenson, and all 



116 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the additions thereto, as of rer-ord in the 
recorder's office, in the County of Rock 
Lshuid." By consulting the records we found 
that the following additions had l)een made: 
Thomas and Wells' Addition. April 5, 1836; 
S])encer and Case's Addition, May 17. 1836; 
and Jones, Garnsey and Beardsley's. known 
as the Chicago or Lower Addition, October 
•22. 1S36. As is well known, numerous 
additions liave since Ijeen made to the city, 
extending its limits to something like ten 
sfjuare miles, viz: About two miles and a 
quarter in average width, by about three and 
a half miles in length. It was invested with 
a city charter by ' ' An Act to Charter the City 
of Rock Island," February 12, 1849. Feb- 
ruary 16, 1857, a more comprehensive charter 
was granted. November 4, 1879, Ijy an 
election the incorporation was changed, and 
an organization efTected under the general 
laws of the State, of 1872. A canvass of the 
\-otes by the City Council November 10, 
1S79, affirmed for organization, under the 
new general law, and on December 10, 1879, 
was certified to and made of record in the 
County Court. Its eastern boundary coin- 
cides witli the western corporate limits of the 
City of Moline, and thus the two cities adjoin, 
and are connected by three street railways, as 
well as hy the regular ])assenger trains of four 
I'aih'oad systems. 

The nearest approacli t<i a "hoom'' exper- 
ienced liy Rock Island was in 1854, when the 
old Chicago and Rock Island Railroad 
reached Rock Island in .January of that year, 
being the first railroad to reach the Mississippi 
River: but in 1857, a year of panic, and 
heavy migration west, gave us a few years 
set-back: we regained, liowever, in good 
time, and since luuc had a steady. l(?gitimate 
growth, one to be pi-oud of. l''rom that 
period the city began to move west in its 
building operations, and of late years, both 
east, west and south. 'I'lie greatest credit 
for the vast .'ind i,-ipid impi'ovenient now 
enjoyed hy Rock Ishind in;iy he ascribed to 



the Citizens Im]irovement Association. The 
pro]")Oser of the association was Richard 
Crampton. who. coming from a tri]5 east, 
recognized that we were stagnant, needed a 
])ush and stir, and his ideas interested W. T. 
]\Iedill. Will R. .Johnston. Dr. Willard A. 
Paul, Fred Hass and others, and the associa- 
tion was organized. They advocated and 
secured, through the good offices of the City 
Council, the special assessment tax for home 
improvement. 

This organization of business men ]ierform- 
ing the same beneficial work now lieing 
accomplished by the Rock Island Club. It 
was mainh' through the efforts of the asso- 
ciation and club that the paving of our streets 
was secured, new additions were laid out into 
city lots, sidewalks brought to a high stand- 
ard, factories encouraged, and others secured, 
the force at the Arsenal enlarged, new bridges 
constructed, new railroads promoted, a new 
Federal building secured; all these materially 
increasing the ])0]iulation. and adding strength 
and reputation to the city. 

Rock Island has a strong urban ))opulation, 
beautiful homes, cheap fuel, the finest of coal 
at our very door, an abundance of water 
furnished by a fine combined system of water 
works, a large water power adjacent to our- 
selves and neighboring city, awaiting develo])- 
ment, a wealthy farming district sm-rfiunding 
us, and a location that capital and labor can 
l)Otli apjireciate. There are few cities that 
can Ijoast of, and offer more ath'antages for 
investment, than the City of Rock Island. 
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific; the 
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy; the Chicago, 
Milwaukee and 8t. Paul, and the Davenport, 
Rock Island and Northwestern Railroads 
entering her boiuidaries — each of the great 
roads supplying every facility for both pass- 
enger and freight traffic. There is also a net 
work of electric surface cars running to Dav- 
enport. Moline. East Moline, Silvis, Milan. 
Watertown, Rock Island .\i'scu,'d. and .-i 
score of ])leasur(' I'esorts. gi\iug liei' one of 



// / ,s' T O R I C R C K 1 S LAND CO U N T Y 



117 



the finest street car systems anywhere. Her 
prosj)erity is evidenced hy the parks and 
drives, which excite tlie admiration of all 
visitoi's; lier siilistantial and comniddious 
schools and colleges, the lai-ge nuniljer of 
churches of all ])rominent denominations, 
shops and stores of every kiml. and manu- 
factories with millions of caiiital, .i^iving 
employment to thousands nf men. A pilow 
factory which i-anks with the best in the 
countrv, a large stove factory ^'i pr(uninence, 
an immense talile oil cloth factory, a lii'owery 
wilh l.oOd barrel ca|iacity, soda and mineral 
w.'ilci- factories, candy factories, immen.se 
himliei'. sash iloor and blind interests, large 
insurance agencies, .good hospitals, ample 
police and fire [irotection, the best of hotels, 
h:is a nuignificent ])ulilic library, which is a 
hiiirie production. 

lO.MlLY X.\:\IES OF cunt STRKKTS. 

In the original plat of tlie town of Stephen- 
son the alleys were named. The main streets 
limning east and west, ]iarallel with the 
ii\'ei', were: Mississijjpi, Illinois, Orleans, 
Iv'ock l!i\'ei', an<l Moline Avenue; its continu- 
al ions being Highland, and Canal Streets. 
'I'he alley between Mississippi Street and 43d 
Illinois Street was named Cherry Alley, then 
came ^'iolet, Pink and Rose Alleys; ijetween 
Orleans and Kock Ki\er Streets. Peach and 
I'luni Alleys; ijetween Illinois and Orleans 
Streets, running north and south, in the 
blocks east and west of the Court House. 
The names are surely not suggesti\-(> of some 
of our jiresent alleys. 

Streets anil Avenues — old 

NEW. OltlCIN'AL. 

1st. — Pike, an<l Pine. 

2(1. —St. Clair 

3d. — Monroe. 

4th. — Carroll. 

oth. — Huron. 

(ith. — Main. 

71 h. —Pearl. 

Mh. — Ontario. 

01 h. — Exchange. 



names ami new; 



10th. 




—Ohio. 


nth. 




— Swan. 


12th. 




—Otter. 


i;:ith. 




— Heaver, and Short . 


14th. 




— Deer, and Stoddard. 


141^^. 




—Cutter. 


15th. 




—Elk. 


IGth. 




-Buffalo. 


17th. 




—Eagle. 


l.sth. 




Washingbiii. 


19th. 




— Jefferson, and ( 'herry. 


2(lth. 




— Madison. 


21st. 




— Adams. 


22(1. 




-Dock. 


23(1 




— liroadway. 


24th. 




— Arsenal. 


2.">tli. 




— Daven|iort. and Keokuk. 


2(ith. 




— Sti(dcney, and Railroad. 


27th. 




- -Howard .\\-enue. 


28th. 




—Twenty-eighth. 


2<.»th. 




— Columbia, and Twentv-ninth. 


3()th. 




—Elm. 


31st. 




— Andi'ews. 


32d. 




— Kimball, and Thirty-second. 


3Sth. 




— Robbins. or College ,\\-eiiue. 


42(1. 




— Sylvan, aii<l W'.almit. 


43(1. 




— Francis. 


4.5th. 




— Hrooks A\-eiuie. 


1st. 


Ave. 


— Mississii)])i. Water and Front 
Streets. 


2d. 


Ave. 


- Illinois. 


3d. 


Ave. 


— Orleans. 


4th. 


Ave. 


— Rock Ri\'er. 


5th. 


Ave. 


- Moline Avenue, Highland, .'iiid 
Canal Streets. 


6th. 


Ave. 


--Commercial, Commerce, Pleas- 
ant, Creen, Cable. (iro\'e, and 
Shernum Streets. 


7th. 


Ave. 


-Toledo, and S]iencer Streets, 
and Second .■\^■enue. 


.Sth. 


Ave. 


— Barnai'il. and Har])er Streets. 


8H Ave. 


—Clark Street. 


9th. 


Ave. 


- Indian Hoiindary Street, and 
Prosjiect Street, and .Xinth 
A\'enue in Edgewood Park. 


nth. 


Ave. 


— Atkinson Street. 


9^i2 


Ave. 


— Toledo, ■•ind rnion Streets. 



118 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



The first brick store in Rock Islam I was 
built by Lemuel Andrews, and is still in 
existence, just east of the Court House, and 
now occupied by i^Irs. Roessler, adjoining the 
old frame house built and occupied by Mr. 
Andrews, and long occu]ned by Mrs. Benja- 
min Cobb. This old brick building was a 
general store, ke])t bj' Andrews and Mc- 
Masters. Mr. Andrews later Iniilding on the 
site of the present E. P. Reynolds' homestead, 
a good brick residence «itli a large porch 
around three sides, and facing the slough, 
beside the county road, where the railroad 
tracks now are. 

]\Ir. Andrews afterward built the large, 
costly mansion known as the Cable residence. 
He also built the first saw and grist mill in 
the lower end of town, in 1S41. The first 
boat yard was established by J. C. Holt, in 
1841, succeeded by Bailey and Boyle, about 
where the present Arsenal viaduct bridge is 
located. They later established a large gen- 
eral store in a new brick block, on the present 
site of the Mitchell and Lynde block. 

The principal early-time Ijook store was 
that of H. A. Porter and Brother, in 1849, 
located oij the south side of Illinois Street, 
between Buffalo and Eagle Streets. At one 
time their chief clerk was Richard Crampton, 
who arrived here from New York May 1 , 
1854, and ever since has been in the book 
business in this city. H. A. Porter and 
Brother went to Chicago in 1858, where they 
established the Chicago Type Foundry. Mr. 
Crampton succeeding to their book business, 
later forming a partnershiji with John G. 
Devoe, who at one time was a ]5roof reader 
for Horace Greeley on the old New York 
Tribune, the firm becoming Devoe and 
Crampton. They started in at the old 
stand, afterwards moving to I'l-ank Warren's 
old store, where Sam Wright now is, and then 
to the old ])ostotHce building of L. .M. Webber, 
on which site Miss Byrnes is now in business. 
Later they moved into a new buikling erected 
bv Tom Plummei-. the old li\erv man, in the 



center of the same .block, where his old livery 
stable was, the first story being below the 
street. The building was quite a distance 
from the sidewalk, having a very wide and 
long jilatform making a carriage way to the 
second story, nearly even with the street. 
Afterwards the firm moved across the street 
to the Peter Fries building, located nearly on 
the site of the old W. H. Whitman residence, 
which Mr. Fries and family at one time 
occupied, where Young and McCombs now 
are. Devoe and Crampton's store was the 
political and newspaper headquarters of the 
city, everybody going there after supper for 
the Chicago ])a]5ers and talk. Those were 
lively, chatty evenings. At one time they 
had a prominent elevated sign in front of the 
store on the outer edge of the sidewalk repre- 
senting a very large wheel, the spokes of 
which advertised their wares, and on the rim 
was the motto by which the establishment 
was long known — ' ' The Moral Center of the 
Intellectual World." 

Where Bengston's block is, in the early 
fifties, stood an old two-story long frame 
building, called Doty's Row, built in the 
forties. In 1855 Smith and Lathrop leased 
forty feet of the ground on the corner for 
twenty j-ears, at a yearly rental of fotn- 
hundred dollars and taxes, and tearing down 
the old Doty Row, they built a three-story 
brick block, which they later sold to E. H. 
Smythe. It was called the E. H. Smythe 
block, a covered stairway running up the 
outside of the building, as does the present 
Bengston block, built on this old site in 1875. 
E. H. and H. A. Smythe were old clothiers 
here, having been proceeded by Knox and 
Company. 

The chief caterers were Mr. an 1 Mrs. 
J-Jutcher, two respected colored pe >])\e. who 
will be renicmbere:! by a great numy of the 
old timers. .\t their restaurant tlie best 
sujipcr, game, steaks and chops, coidd be had, 
none better since their day: lianie, especially, 
being very plentiful, (luail could be bought 



// / ,s' T R I a li C K I S L AND COUNT Y 



111) 



for twenty-five cents per dozen in tlidse ihiys, 
and prairie chickens in comparison. .Mrs. 
J^utcher often serA-ed families at their home 
parties. 

The Butchers were located in a Rood sizeil 
frame house. Ijack of the old Hock Island 
House toward the ri\-er. on old West lvi<ile 
Street. They had an unusually brislit. smart 
son, and there was no better dressed man in 
town than A\. Untclicr. l)ani(' Humor says 
he used to wax the white l.ioys at p(}ker; no 
names mentionetl. He paid a short \'isit 
here a ^'car a,no from .Memphis, his home now, 
where he was made pro\'ost mai'slial after the 
War of the lieliellion. 

The main jiro^dder for the inner man was 
old Frefl Kidenljaugh, who conducted the old 
Young America — called the Empire — on 
Market (Scjuare, a jilace where the liest men 
in town went for a supper, oyster stew, or 
drink — business men, lawyers and doctors. 
At his demise, accordin,i; to his 'desire, the 
funeral was held from the First Presbyterian 
("hiu'ch, its ])astor, Re\'erend S. T. Wilson, 
olliciating. 

One of the very early butcher shops, in 
1S52, was that of L. Buttrick, situated in 
Market Scpiare, near the |:)resent drinking 
fountain and hay scales. It was a small, 
one-story frame building, boards running up 
and ilown, with a small slieil addition in the 
rear, and all whitewashed. 

The first foundry and machine shop was 
established by Wel)ljer. Pxiyil and Company, 
in 1849, on the corner of Illinois and Jiroad- 
way Streets, succeeded l)y C. C. W'ebber and 
Company, and known as the Union I^'oundry. 
One door east, in 1S5.5, \\'ns established the 
ollice of I.owry. Thomas and Company, 
))roprietors <if the Carbon Cliff Coal Mining 
Company. In 1853 N. 11 and T. J. Jiuford 
liuilt a foiuidry and machine shop on Watei' 
Street east of Buffalo. Another good old 
foundry man. an e.xpert, was W . 11. Thomp- 
son, who in 1856 had the ^'ulcan I'ouniliy 
near Broailw a\- and .Moline .\\'enue, facing 



what is now Twenty-fotu'th Street. His son, 
David C. Thom|ison, for the jiast thirty-si.\ 
years superintendent of the foimdry at Rock 
Island Arsenal, became, under the tutelage 
of his father, an adept. W. H. Thompson 
was a great " Hobliy Burns " man, and always 
recognized his birthday. He could quote 
Burns galore, and with the .genuine Scot<'li 
idiom, 

.John liulley, an I'^nglishman, in 1 N55 kept 
a crockery store on the corner of Jiutfalo and 
ilock River Streets, and was an importer of 
china, crocdvcry and glassware. The liuilding 
was a long one-stor\- frame building, the 
boartls running up and down, anrl white- 
washed both inside and outside. He was 
commonly spoken of as the "bully man." 

Lee and Wilinans had another crockery 
store in 1854. in a frame Imilding .just east of 
the present Ontral Presbyterian Church, 
north of the Court House. 

John Bengsfon came here in lS(3'i, clerking 
in the drug store of C. H, Pahnestock, in the 
center of tlie blo(d< east of Buffalo Street. 
The store was conducted afterwards by 
Fahnestock ;ind Lewis, and then by Charles 
A. Benser. who moved to tiie corner of Eagle 
and Illinois Streets, tlu^ ]iresent pilace of T, H. 
Thomas, where the old corner has had Cook, 
Sargent and Parker's bank, the grocery stores 
of M. S. Herrick. and Charles M. Kno.x, son 
of Joe Knox, one of oui- old time lawyers. 
There have also been two drug stores on this 
site. 

J. K. Bard, in the middle sixties, kept a 
grocery store called the "Painted Barrels," 
located imdcr Dart's Hall. The store took 
its name from a prominent ele\'ated sign of a 
barrel painted in \aried colors. 

In the centre of the block between Six- 
teenth and Seventeenth Streets, in the early 
sixties, used to be a large sized niu'sery dis- 
|ilay grovmds for the Hakes Niu'sery, which 
was in the rear <if Holmes Hakes residence, 
no«" Jose|ih Rosenfield's resilience, on Se\'enth 
Avenue near iMghteeiith Street. A two-storv 



120 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



brick building was built there afterwards, 
occupied by W. C. and H. T. Wadsworth as 
a dry goods store; they were succeeded by 
Mitchell and Parsons. Xext door west, in 
1854, was the grocery store of (!ray Brothers, 
Tom and Jessie. Near where t'arse's Block 
now is, a heavy set man, known by the name 
of " Puff and Windy Smith," had a dry goods 
and general store. 

Henry Hcnsman started a stove store and 
tin shop in 1S45, in the center of the ]wst- 
office block on Illinois Street, next door to a 
butcher shop kept l)y James Copp, senior, 
and his son. George. Mr. Hcnsman some- 
time later moved to the present Buford 
Block, leaving Rock Islan 1 for Denver in 
1863. He was succeeded by Hass and Kane, 
and afterwards by Michael Kane, J. B. Dan- 
forth being a silent ])artner. In 1855 George 
Whisler kept a grocery and seed store next 
to Copp's meat market; next door was Eric 
Okerberg, who came to Rock Island in 1851, 
said to be the first watchmaker in Rock 
Island County. 

In 1852 David Bo wen and i)rother kept a 
one-story, good sized frame grocery store on 
the ]>resent postoffice corner. 

In 1862 David Don opened a stove store 
and tin shop on Illinois Street just east of the 
present Illinois Theatre. Robert Don, in 
1860, ran a bakery where the Beecher prop- 
erty is, just west of Carse's Hall. The old- 
time Ijaker was Charley Yates, on Illinois 
Street cast of Buffalo, and then Jake Aster 
(in Market StpKire. For years Ernest Krell 
was baker, confectioner and caterer; always 
ready to assist the ladies at their chiu'ch 
socials. W. B. Sargent started a small 
grocery store in 1860 on the corner of Illinois 
anl Washington Streets, where the Peo]3les 
National Bank stands, afterwards having as 
a ])artner, Harry Williams, then David 
Hawes. After .Major C. W. Hawes, his son, 
retiu'ned from the Ai'uiy, he Imiight his 
father's interest. 'I'he store was a small 
frame l)uilding, })ainted a reddish brown, and 



Sargent and Hawes used to advertise it as 
the " Dilapitated Corner." It made way for 
future improvements. Mr. Sargent and his 
son, Nute, in 1868, bought out the grocery 
store of J. B. I'lummer, under the old Rod- 
man House. 

Warnock and Kelly started the first soa]) 
factory, prior to 1855, advertising as manu- 
facturers of "candles, variegated soaps, and 
common soaj^s, and dealers in soda — ash and 
rosin." This manufactory was near the boat 
yard. 

In December, 1859, Archie and Tom Shaw 
commenced pork packing on the ]iresent site 
of James S. CHlmore's packing house, and 
continued until 1870, when the_v went to 
Chicago, and James S. Gilmore succeeded to 
the business, which he has carried on ever 
since, making a continuous pork packing 
busmess for over forty-eight years at the 
same place. 

Joseph and Mayer Rosenfield started busi- 
ness in 1856, in hides and leather findings, 
in a one and one-half story building next to 
(iray Brothers' grocery store, on the north 
side of Illinois Street, between Buffalo and 
Eagle Streets, afterwards moving to the 
Iglehart corner, then to the N. B. Buford 
Block, east of Carse's Hall, and afterwards 
to more commodious quarters at 1628 Second 
Avenue. 

SOME OLD-TIMIO MERCHAXTS AXD CITIZENS I\ 
1855 A.XD PRIOR. 

H. L. Aljbott, "daguemean artist," Illinois 
Street, east of liuffalo. 

Ainsworth and I.ynde. "Boston Store," 
dry goods and groceries, corner Water and 
Washington Streets. 

Christopher Atkinson, lirickmaker :in 1 liuild- 
er, on Bluff Road near the old grave yard, 
afterwards locating at the present c irner of 
Seventh .\ venue and Thirtieth Street, an 1 
later en Thirtieth Street between Tenth and 
Eleventli .\\('nues. 

William H. .Ayres. painter, in base:nent of 
old .Methodist Ch\irch. 



// / .s' T li I C R U C K 1 S L A N D CO U N T Y 



121 



Hawes and Babcock, I)a\i(l Hawcs ami 
George M. Babcock, stone (|iiarry ami linie 
kiln, soiitli side of Moline Aveinic. imw Fiftli 
Avenue and Tliirty-lifth Street. ])a\-id Hawes 
came here in 18oo, retiiniini;- to Xashville. 
and coming back in 1837. 

John Barge, school teacher and City Clerk. 

l-iai'ucs and Bandel, old saw mill, a!io\o 
I'aih'oad bridge, afterwards the site of the 
second Chicago and l{ock Island railroad 
round Ixiuse, the fii'st round house being 
built on the noi'th side of Illinois Street, at 
the fool of Broadway Street. 

Barrett and Cold), auction store. Illinois 
and West Eagle Streets. 

.bihn Beierlein, old time coojier, located on 
the c(jrner of Rock River and I'-lk Streets. 

\\'illiam Bell, carpenter and builder, one of 
our foremost citizens, (|uiet in manner, ami 
a most thorough man was " I'ncle Billy liell." 

A. Benedict ami Company, shoe.s, leather 
belting, etc.. Illinois Street, west of Buffalo. 

Block and Loewenthal, clothing .store, 
so\ith .side of Illinoi.s Street, west of Eagle. 

Blythe and Stoddard, wagon and carriage 
makers, corner of Eagle ami Orleans Streets, 
the old shoj) being operated afterwards by 
Thomas Hoo]ier. 

W. T. Rigg.s. watchmaker and jeweler, 
between Washington and I'^agle Streets, 
commenced business in the Spring of ISoO. 

.1. M. Moore, in 1847. erected a two-story 
briid'C building on the northeast corner of 
Illinois and Buffalo Streets. In 1800 the 
main .store was remodeled, another story ])ut 
on, and a residence erected, ad.joining the 
rear of the store, which was the first liai'd- 
ware firm. 

Clasivis and S])eidel, diuggists, on the 
corner of Illinois and Mast Eagle Streets, in 
the Buford Block. Dr. Clacius coming here 
in 1858, Mr. Speidel .joined him the following 
vear. They sometime later sold out to (Ueim 
and Hinckley. John Bengston buying the 
stock -Maridi 1.5. 1868, building and moving 
to his ])resent (piarters in 1N7."). 



John H. Lan.gley and Comjiany, George W. 
I). Harris being the company, forwarding and 
conmiission merchants, steaml)oat agents, 
agricultural iiu))lenients, cement, fire l:>rick, 
etc. \\'ater Street w(>st of Madison Street. 
They were successors to V.. T. Sawyei' and 
( 'ompany, ]>rior to 1 8.")."). 

I'eter I'ries. wholesale dealer in wines and 
li(lU()rs. on the southeast coi'ucr of Wash- 
ington and Water Streets, commenced busi- 
ness in bs.'i.'), with V. W . Kellerstrass. who 
retired in iMil. The lin'ation was the old 
"Boston Store" of ('oiiielius l.\-iide. senior 
and .junior. 

Biddison and (lilnioi-e. composed of .losepli 
A. Biddison. Gecu'ge I*". P>iddisim and William 
F. Gilmore. I'laiung Mill ami corn mill, on 
the corner of Washington ami Hock Ri^■er 
Streets; commenced business in \sy.\. 

Warner JMill's. built in 18.")(i. coinei-of W'ash- 
iii.gton and Ilighj.aiid Streets. \\,as :i foui- 
story bri(d-; l)uilding, ori.ginally built foi' a 
l)arrel factory, but conxcrteil into a flouring 
mill, with a capacity of two hundi-ed and 
forty barrels of flotn- a day. The flour mill 
was first ritn by Baker and (iilmore. then li\- 
John Warner and L. C. Burwell. aflei-w ard,-~ 
by .lohn R. Warner, who later built on a 
hea\'y frame aildition for a sash, dooi' and 
bliml factory, and ])laning mill, now occupit^d 
by the Rock Island Stair Works. There is 
still in existence on the pi-eniises one of the 
first artesian wells di-ilh^d in the city, one 
hundred and fifteen feet deep. 

C. H. Leas and son. T. Silas Leas, built the 
first steam flouring mill, in the Winter of 
1854, on Water Street east of l^xchange, \\'. 
H. Hayes being their head miller. 

William W. Langdell, blacksmith and 
farmer, Moline Avenue, near Littig's bi-ewer_\-. 

Reaugh and Cameron, shingle factory near 
the boat yard. 

Hakes and Riggs, watches and jewelry, 
Illinois Street, west of Buffalo. 

Jacob Sailor, saddlery, harness and trunk 
luanufactorv. Illinois west of Washington. 



122 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Sargent and BoUnian, lilacksmiths, Eagle 
Street south of Illinois. 

Amos Stillman, Count}- surveyor, 1855. 

Henry Curtis, junior. City surveyor and 
civil engineer, whose work can still be seen 
on many of the original i)lats on file in the 
Court House. 

W. L. Sweeney, wagon maker (1S55) and 
Cyrus Churchill, blacksmith (1855), must 
have joined forces shortly after, as the old 
firm of Churchill and Sweeney e.xisted for 
vears on Eagle Street south of Orleans. 

Whitaker and Everts, dry gooils. Illinois 
west of Eagle. 

Uridge Whiffen, ornamental painter, an old 
timer and still on earth, generally known as 
John Whiffen. 

Peter L. Hig, brewery, on Moline .\venup 
east of Andrews Street (1855). 

Charles B. Knox, undertaker. Rock Ki\i'i- 
and Madison Streets. 

John Lusk, collector cm ferry boat, after- 
wards ran a hack between Rock Island and 
.Moline. 

Bill Kale and Charley Fisher, barbers. 

H. A. J. McDonald, carpenter and builder, 
on Rock River Street east of Broadway, was 
the father of our present postmaster. 

A. .1. Swanson, boots and shoes, started in 
1856 on the south side of Illinois Street east 
of Buffalo and next door to Graham's stove 
store, and was afterwards, for many years, 
near the (dd Island City Hotel and Harper 
House. 

John Har])er and .'Vlexander Steel came 
from Chillicothe, Ohio, to Rock Island in 
1855, and started a hardware store at the 
present location of the Rock Island Savings 
Bank. Tiiey continued in business together 
until 1805, when John Harper removed to 
Denver and started in the hardware business 
there. They were succeeded by Harper and 
Compaii}-, a firm com])osed of William Harper, 
a brother of John, and his l)rother-in-law, J. 
II. McCalister, then of Aledo, Illinois, the 
latter being a silent partner. In 1857 



William Harper died after a brief illness, 
and ]\lr. McCalister took charge of the busi- 
ness. On September 1, 1869, J. W. Stewart 
moved to Rock Island from Dayton, Ohio, 
and took Mr. Har]ier's interest, the firm being 
McCalister and Stewart. In 1874 Mr. Mc- 
Calister sold liis interest to James M. Mont- 
gomery, then of .\ndalusia, Illinois. The 
firm, Stewart and Montgomery, continued 
until 1892. when J. W. Stewart bought Mr. 
Montgomery's interest and continued the 
business alone until 1905, being then suc- 
ceeded by the present owners, the Rock Island 
Ilardwai'e Com]Dany. The business has been 
in but two locations since the beginning, 
namely: The Second Avenue and Seven- 
teenth Street corner from 1855 to 1877, and 
tlie Dart corner, Second A-\-enne and Eight- 
teenth Street, from 1877 to the present 
time. 

Ciuincy McNiel, school teacher in the little 
lirick school house in I'nion Square, was one 
\\h() used the roil and was for many years a 
strernious figure aroiuid the Court House, 
being at one time Circuit Clerk. 

C. S. Newberry and Brother, painters. Eagle 
and Water Streets. 

Jacob Norris, furniture dealer, corner of 
Illinois and Elk Streets, was a well known 
character and politician. 

Childs and Baker, dry goods, ci'ockery, etc., 
Illinois Street, east of Buffalo. 

Elton C. Cropper, builder and carpenter, 
East Eagle, north of Illinois; afterwards 
Police Magistrate. 

David L. Cunkle, millstone manufacturer, 
and dealer in flour mill supplies, Illinois 
Street, west of Jefferson. 

Fisk and Lee, brokers and insurance agents. 
East Eagle Street, north of Illinois. 

Tim Babcock, wholesale grocer, near Avfius 
office. 

W. Hurst, fruit and confectionery, Illinois 
Street, east of Buffalo. 

(^harles Jeanneret, watchmaker an<l jeweler, 
Illinois Street, west of Washington. 



11 I S T U HI C R U a K I S L A N I) V d A' T Y 123 

George I). Jirtiniley. ilry goods, je^\■elrv, w lio had an oltice in the Hock Ishmtl House, 

etc., Illinois .Street, we.st of Jiuffalo. l.S.'^S. .lacoh Sailor was tlie first harness 

N. B. liuford Block, tlie red hrick luiilding maker and saddler, and John Thompson the 

near the northwest corner of Illinois and first cooper. 

Buffalo Streets. 1S3(). The first stove store, tin and sheet 

liulkley and Pleasant 's ( !(ii liic lUock. north iron factory o|)ened l)y I.ee and Chaniherlin. 

si(h' of Illinois Street, lietween l^ast Eagle Marcus 11 Oshnrn was the first, land agent, 

and Washington Streets. 1S4(). .Iose|>h .lolinsiui. tlic first clunr- 

I'hysicians: Patrick (lre,ug; Brarkctt and maker. 

Bulklcy; .Indd and liathlmn, eclectic; W. F. 1S41. Name of Stephenson, cliange(l \n 

Cady; Calvin Truesdalc; S. ('. Plummer; Uovk Islan<l. 

William A. Kno.x. 1,S4.3. B. l'\ Barrett opened the Hrst 

In 18.58 Henry Tremann and Augustus lumljer yard. 

Tremann opened a butcher shop on the 1845. The first forwardin.g ami commis- 

north siile of Illinois Street, between Elk sion house opened by Henry Powars. 

and Buffalo Streets. 184(j. First livery stalile liy .iosepli H. 

In 1855 Frederick Kramer, carjienter, Barnett. 

.Moline Avenue, east of Andrews Street. 1N4(). First telegraph ollice opened. <'iin- 

1833. Reverend Asa McMui'ty was the necting with eastern lines \\-a St. I.onis: 
first clergyman, and that year, or the year Chicago commnnication was opened in 1 .S5;5 . 
following, organized a Methodist l^ipiscopal 1850. Fii-sl skylight daugei-rean gallery 
Church. l>y Erastus Downey. A. Benedict and Cnni- 

1834. Charles H. and ]i. I;. Case built the pany opened an extensive stoi-e of lioots and 
fii'st hon.se in Stephenson on the corner of shoes, leather belting, saddlery. harih\are. 
Water and Beaver Streets. The building was and carriage trimmings, Fi-ench and .\mci-ican 
used as a Conrt'Honse until 1837. when the calfskins, shoe thread, lasts, boot ti-ecs. awls 
first Court House was built in ('(uu't House and tacks. N. B. Jiuford and \\. H. Clark 
Square, being the first brick building in town. Iieing the Company, location lllinius, west of 
The first hotel in Ste]ihenson w;is 0].iened by Buffalo Street. 

Walter Phillips on Orleans Street, ojijiosite 1851. The Collegiate Institute and female 

the Court House. Seminary. The four-story brick buililing in 

1835. This Spring the town was sur\-eyed rear of the Rock Island Club house, and 
by Charles Bemiett, who was the first sur- facing Third Avenue, was liuiM and opened 
veyor. .1. II. Coon was the first bri(d-: m.aker in 1852, by Reverend .1. W. l)eiinison as 
and brick layer. principal. 

IS'M). , lames Copp opened the lii'st butclici- Ho(dv Island (las, Light and Coke Company, 

stall, also packed the first pork. William t he first gas coni])any in tlie city, wasoi'gan- 

T>athrop was the first wagon maker. Israel ized June 24, 1854, and has been in successful 

Showdy the first blacksmith. Morgan Fer- operation since January 1 . 1855. Theorigimd 

guson the first painter. Adam 'W Smitli flie stock was $100,111)1): .lai'oli Kilcy c(nning fi-om 

first lawyer. Doctoi- P. Cregg ojjened an Pittsburgh to install the plant. Muring 1 S.)4 

office, and kept drugs and medicines for sale. the company laiil one and a li.alf miles of 

The first school house was erected on the street nuuns, had o\'er cme hnndrc 1 pri\ate 

corner of Orleans and Otter Streets. consumers, and thirty public lamps. Tlc\- 

lN:-i7. First .jewelry store opened b\- li. 11. contemiilatt'il laying pipes to .Moline iluiiu'; 

Kinne\-. The first dentist was. I. P). P>i-ancli. 1855. but the extension was not made until 



124 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



1888. Benjamin Harper was [jrojirietor for 
some time, later selling out to Sylvester 
Watts of St. T.ouis. W. H. Judge was the 
superintendent up to 1S92, when the property 
was sold to the Brush Electric IJght Com- 
pany, and in 1893 transferred to the Peoples 
Power Company, who at the jiresent time 
have forty-five to fifty miles of street mains. 

The Rock Island County Agricultural 
Society, situated in the town of Rock Island 
for a number of years, on tlie old Camden 
road north of Cooperstown, was organized in 
18o3, holding fairs in Octolier of each year. 
At its first fair $150. 9.5 was distributed in 
premiums. 

1854. February 22d the Chicago and Kock 
Island Railroad being completed, the first 
train arriA-ed. A big celebration was given, 
and an excursion of si.x steamlioats carried 
the railroad olficials and noted visitors to St. 
Paul. 

1S55. The iletliodist jmrtiori of Churcli 
Square was purchased by the City an<l the 
name cluinged to I'nion Scjuare, and enclosed 
with a neat fence. Tlie first exclusive hat 
and ca]i store opened l:)v Cook anil Spangler. 
First e.xclusive music store started by .1. T. 
Croft. First regular millinery and fancy dry 
goods store by Strickland and .Judd. 

In 1855 there were foiu' hundred and thirty- 
four business ]ilaces in Rock Island, including 
]irofessional men. 

In October, 1839, was ]niblished the first 
local directory, only mentioning town otHcers, 
hotels, ]jrofessional men and merchants. 

Physicians and Druggists: Haviland and 
(Gregory, P. Gregg, J. R. Hadsell (botanic), 
Silas Reed, il. lieardsley. 

Lawyers: .1. \Vils(m Drury (office in Sho|i 
of Dr. Cregg), ,1, R. Wells, h". G. Reynohls. 

'I'inners: Lee and Ciiamberlin. 

Sliocunakers: l';iiliu Turner, John Metzgar. 

Bricklayers and Plasterers: W. H, Sage, 
.]. .M. I'.cllows. 

('oopers: .Inhu Thompson, J. .MilkMi;in. 

Drayman: .lohn Tlioni])son. 



Butchers: James Co[)p, Robert Dunlap 
and Company. 

Watchmaker: R. H. Kinney. 

Blacksmiths: Hil.ibard Moore, J. Shonile. 

Saddlers and Harnessmakers: Jacob Sailor, 
J. M. Frizzell. 

STAGE A,\D H.>.CK ROUTE.S I.X" 1855. 

Rock Island and Moline Hacks run as fol- 
lows: Leave Rock Island at S, 9:30 and 11 
o'clock A. M.. and at 1. 2:30 and 5 o'clock 
P. M.: leave Moline at 7:15, 9:15 and 11 
o'clock A. M., and 1. 3 and 4 o'clock P. M. 
Packages of less than one hundred and fifty 
pounds weight cari'ied carefully and delivered 
prom|)tly. 

Canulen and Rock Island Hack lepves 
Canulen at 8 o'clock A. 'SI. and 2 o'clock P. M. ; 
leaves Rock Island at 1 I d'clock A. M. and 
6 o'clock P. M. 

Stages for CJalena and Dixon, via Port 
Byron, leave the Rock Island House every 
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning 
at 7:30 o'clock. For Macond) at the same 
time and ])lace. For Knoxville, every Tues- 
day and Saturday morning as abo\'e. 

ROCK ISLAND POSTOFFICE. 

The hrst ])ostoffice in this comity was 
established in connection with old Fort 
Armstrong, April 23, 1825, Colonel George 
Da\-enport being the first postmaster. Owing 
to the fact that there was no one to administer 
the obligations of the position Mr. Davenport 
served a number of years without taking an 
oath. ,\pril 4. 1834, the first postoffice was 
established upon the nuiinland and Josejih 
Conway was made the first postmaster. The 
office was first located at Farnhamsl:)urg, but 
wlien Ste|)henson became the county seat it 
was removed to somewhere in the neighbor- 
hood of what is now Seventeenth Street. In 
1843, when t^olonel John Buford was post- 
master, tlie ofiRce was located between Six- 
teenth and Seventeenth Streets on First 
.•\venne. In 1849 it was removed to Second 
.■Xvenue between Seventeenth and Eighteenth 



// / .s T o in (' R n r k i s l a n d c o u .v t y 125 

Streets. In 1S53 liailcy ami lloylc's hiiild. Twenty-nine mails are received and thirty- 

in^, in the rear (if whcrr Mitrlidl and l.ynde's two dispatched daily. There are miw heini: 

huildinf!; now stands, was ()i'cu|iicd. Tlii-ee received daily an avd'ajie of oxci- 12. ()()() 

years later anothei' reniii\al to llie Minth side ]iieces of first (dass and 7,(1011 iiicrrs ot other 

of Second Avenue, Xo. 17(14, between Se\cn- mail. The ]iresent otiice force consists of 

leenlh and Kishteenth Streels, was made, Iml nineteen clerks, one au.xiliary clerk, eighteen 

in 1S()1 Hailey and lioyle's ImildiiiK was ai^ain carriers, three sniistitule cai-riers, one rural 

occnpii'd. the office remainin"- there till the carrier, and one s|)ecial delivery messenger. 

reiiio\al to the ]3resent Cjuarters in the federal Ten jiostal stations are also located throngli- 

hnildin.i;- in Decemher, \S\Ht. out the city. 

The different postmasters since the estali- The office has been of the first (dass since 

lishini^ of the office with the term din'ing 1S()S. 

winch they served are as follows: I'aid money oi-dcrs in l'.l()7 were l()r),4ti'.>. 

.loseph Conway, 1 834- 1 !S.'i(i ; Miles W. Con- amountin.g to .«;1 ,(31'_',671 .1 7. 

wa\-, ls;?ti-lS4n: Joseph B, Wells, IS4()-lS41: 

,, , I , , „ ,. ,1^,,, ici- IT (• HOCK ISl.AXl) I'Ol.lCl'; |)i:i'.\KTMENT. 
( ol<iii(d .lohn Hniord, 1.S41-1S4/ ; llai'nion (i. 

Reynolds. 1847-1849: Elbridge R. Rean, 1S4'.I- In the early days of J{,o(dv Islan<l the police 

1853:. James Kell\-, 1803-1855: \\'illi:im l''ri/,- force was small, being in |)roportion to the 

zell, 1855-185G: Lewis .M. Webber, 1S5()-1858; needs of tlie city in this respect. As the 

Hernnin Field, 1858-18()1: l)ocfor Cal\-in pojiulation increased t he number of guardians 

Truesdale, 1861-1865: John H, ilawley, 1865- of the proiierty and peace of the citizens was 

I8()6; Captain James F. Copp, 1866-1867: gradually increased, mainly liy the addition 

.M,arcus H. Osborn, 1867-1871: Captain F. M. of night men. I''oi- many years llie marshal 

ll,a\ I'rstick, 1871-1873 : William .lackson, I S73- was the only day man on ordinary occasions. 

1S76: 'i'liomas Murdock. lN7(i-l8S(l: .Majoi- J. Hestaidabout I he city offices and if an\-|hing 

M. Jieardsley, 188()-18,S4: .Majoi- Cli.-ii-les W. came up denuuiding his ,sei'\ ices he went out 

Hawes, 1S84-188S: August Huesing, 1888- alone and disposed of the business, .-\bont 

1N8<.): Howard Wells. ISSII-l .S'.I3; .1. W. I'oller. thirty years ago the first attempt was made 

1 8'.i;{-I 807: T. IF Thomas, 1 ,S',»7-1 ',M)6 : Hugh to prescribe uniforms foi- the niembei's of the 

.\. J. Mid)onal<l. l!)()6. foi'ce, but each man was allowed iMUisiderable 

.\s (Mie of the best indications of the nianiua- latitutle in the m:it(er. with the result that 

in which the citv has grown, the icceipts of there was a wide wii'iety in the makeups. It 

the postoffice at different pei-iods during the is only during the last lifteeu yeais that the 

past twcnty-tln-ee years ai-egi\cn: officers have been nuifm-med with aii\- degree 

FS,S4 .$15,441.84 11»()() . S61t.'_'5().'.ll of precision in the det ails of dress. 

FS85 18,829,63 1901 77,SSFii(i The force now employed consists of: 

FS8!) 23,560.38 1902 75. 42!). 97 Chief of police, two desk sergeants, t wo plain 

1S92 29,749.63 1903 74.1(18.17 clothes men, a police nuati-on, sixteen patrol- 

F896 30,721.84 1904 . 78.660.29 men, and the follow ing ap|iai-a( us: One rub- 

l,Si,)7 34,495.95 1905.. 87,983.22 ber tire ambulance, one patrol wagon, (uie 

1898. . 43.205,80 l!)(l(i 88,375.64 (duef's bu.ggy. 

1899 57,440.11 19(17 96,734.67 

rp, f , r , ,1 HOCK ISFAXI) VWiV. I )i;i'.\ 1; lAI kFNT. 
1 he tree delivery system was inaugnrateil 

in 18,S8 with five carriei's. The money ordei- The old ' ' Hucket Ih'igade" was followed by 

depaiiment do(>s an unusmdly large amount t lie legular \'olunteer Fii-e I lepart nieiit . which 

of business for a city the size of Rock inland. was organiz(>d in IS56. ,and a I. ami engine 



126 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



purchased, and iiaincd "Western No. 1." 
The engine when receh'cd was housed in a 
new two-story brick building on the north- 
west corner of Coiu't House Square. Frazer 
Wilson was elected president, and George K. 
Bi(ldi.son foreman. The company was limited 
to seventy-five members. 

Later another company was formed and 
took the name of "Aquarius No. 2" — motto 
"Water Bearer." The com)iany having a 
membership of sixty-fi\-e, with CSeorge J., 
("arlton as foreman. The second company 
oi'ganized was the "Rescue No. 2." in 185S, 
.and a double-decker hand engine purchased, 
named "Rescue No. 2," and stationed in a 
new engine house on Jefferson Street, between 
Orleans and Rock River Streets, afterwards 
Walter Dauber's old blacksmith shop. 

■ The old primitive ladder wagon was a 
rough convenience, the ladders likewise; the 
sides being of good sized gin poles, sawed 
lengthwise in the center, and heavy enough 
to take eight or ten men to raise them. The 
first modern Hook and Ladder Truck was 
purchased in 1874; named the "Reveille," 
and housed in the Western No, 1 engine house. 
The Wide Awake Hose Company was exjiected 
to run this truck, \n\{ arrangements were 
made for quick word to a li\ery stal)le for 
a span of horses, often running their street 
hack on the .junqi to furnish the horses. 

The first steam fire engine was purchased 
in 1869 and named the William Eggleston, 
and housed in Western No. 1 house. The 
second fire engine was the Reserve No. 2, 
purchased in 1871, and housed in Rescue No. 
2 hand engine house. 

in 187() the department consisted of five 
hose companies, one hook and ladder truck, 
and one steam engine field in reserve, and one 
hose carriage. The hose companies were the 
Phoenix Xo. 1, Wide Awake No. 2, Hojie 
I lose No. :i, Rescue No. 4, Neptune No. 5. 
'i'lic old \-olunt('er chiefs ha\-e been (ieorge 
Carlton, I'^lton C. (h'ojiper. William Kale, 
S. I'.. Stoddard, A. Roswog, C. B. Knox, 



.Jacob \\'ollenhaupt , Thomas Yates, I'atrick 
Kennedy, Thomas Hollman, in 1876. Harry 
Hall assistant chief, and James Johnston. 

September 2. 1891, the ]iaid Fire Depart- 
ment of the City of Rock Lsland was organ- 
ized. Honorable William McConochie. mayor 
Daniel Corken, B. F. Knox and AVinslow P. 
Tindall fire and light committee. William 
Ramskill was apjiointetl chief, and Jiernard 
Brahm assistant chief. The department at 
that time consisted of eight men, including 
ofiicers. The apparatus included one two- 
horse hose wagon, and one two-horse ladder 
truck, that was formerly used by the \V)lun- 
teer Fire Department. On ilarch 8, 1892, 
the department was increased by three men, 
making the total number eleven men. On 
May 26, 1894, two sub-stations were installed; 
No. 2 hose company located on Eighth Street, 
in the building formerly occupied by the 
Phoenix hose company; and No. 3 hose com- 
pany located on Twenty-sixth Street; these 
hose comjjanies consisted of three men eacli 
and one two-horse hose wagon. At this time 
T. J. Medill was mayor, and appointed Bern- 
ard Jirahm chief of the department, and J. D. 
Collier assistant chief. In 1895, as mayor, 
B. F. Knox ajipointed James Johnston as 
chief and J. D.' Collier as assistant chief. 
.Mr. Johnston had served the old volunteers 
as their chief with honor and credit to him- 
,self and the city. In May, 1897, T. J. Medill 
l)eing again elected mayor, J. I). Collier was 
appointed chief, and Peter L'rey assistant 
chief. 

In 1899 Charles Hastings was ap])ointed 
chief vindcr Mayor McConochie's administra- 
tion, and Peter Frey a.ssi.stant. Mr. Hastings 
served as chief without interruption from 
1899 until June 1. 190.5, when he resigned. 
.Ml'. Fred L. Tubbs was appointed chief 
Septeml)er 9, 1905, and served until the 
Sjiring of 1907, when Mr. Hastings was again 
appoint(>d chief, and Peter Frey assistant 
chief; and both are the present incumbents. 
The recognition of both Mr. Hastings and 



HISTORIC RUCK I S L A X I) COUNTY 



127 



Mr. Frey besi:)e:ik their merit ami eliicieucy. 
Mr. Frey ha.s been in rnntiiiiial service as 
a.ssistant chief since l\Iay •">, 1S'J7. .\s (nic nf 
the new chiefs says, "a l<iii(l woi'il nf |ii-aise 
for the vohinteer firemen nf liyiiunc days 
should not be amiss : too mni'h |ii'aisc nr crt'clit 
can not be ftiven these men \vh<i in the faith- 
fnl, voluntary discharge of tlicii- duty often 
endangered their lives and hcaltli. while 
responding to alarms of fire; often contractinfi; 
serious illness ami |ieiiuancnt disability: 
ne\'er recei\dng' one cent of c(Mii|K'iisation for 
their services; these heroes of the other days 
deserve the same credit as the volunteer 
solidei', but the puljlic as usual in such cases 
withholds the reward that is due." 

At the present time the department force 
consists of nineteen men; eighteen men being 
|)aid fidl time, and one man acting as sidxsti- 
tute when men ai'e laying off through sick- 
ness or injuries, or on their aniuud furlough. 

The apparatus of the department consists 
of three two-horse hose « agons, oiu' two-horse 
luMik and ladder truck, and luie chief's buggy. 

'I'he truck and chief's Imggy are new; the 
new tru(d< replacing the old Jiabcock truck 
\\ liich had been in service for thirtv-one years. 

THE WATEH\\()HKS SVSTIAI. 

,\ugust 14, 1.S71. tlie city couni-il passecl an 
(U'dinance authorizing the location of a pump- 
ing station near the Rock Island I'low fact(U-y, 
at the west end of the city ami the installing 
of water nuuns along the business streets, 
bonds to the auKuuit of !!f75,ll()() being issued 
to meet the cost. In a few yeai's there began 
to be c(unplaints tliat tlH> water was bad. 
especially after a system of sewers hail iiecn 
built in 1S7S. Tlie city was divided into two 
sewer districts, with Se\-enleent li Street as 
the di\'iding line, and the waste of the lower 
disti'ict in partii'ular appeal's to have affected 
the water supply. In bS,Sl the present 
pumping stati(ui at the foot of 'I'w cnty-fonit h 
.Stieet was built. 1'. 1.. Cable ciuitribut nig 
.S'-'o.ddO toward its construction. .\ twcnt\- 



inch inlet pipe, 2,200 feet in length was laid 
to the channel at the ufirth end of the (lovern- 
ment bridge, and two Holly piinips were 
in.stalled, having a capacity of :-;.l)(l(l,llOO 
gallons a day. 

At the end of ten years the consumption 
of water in the city became so great that 
these facilities were inadequate. A (Jaskell 
pump with a capacity of 5,000,000 gallons 
daily was installeil and a. thirty-inch inlet 
pi|ie was laid beside the old twenty-inch one 
t<i the channel of the river. At this time 
there was no way in which the water supply 
could l.)e filtered and at times it was renderefl 
unfit for most uses by the sediment catised 
by flooils. A mechanical filter was donated 
by Honorable Ben T. Cable as a memorial to 
that gentleman's father, 1'. 1.. Cable, ami 
considerable impro\ciuenl in the water supply 
was noted. 

The Ijluffs aboxe the city affording such 
exceptional advantages for the location of 
gravity filters and rcserA-oirs, a strong senti- 
ment in favor of siii'li .■m inipinxement 
developed and in bSlt7 I lie tract of land now- 
known as Resei'\'oir I'ark was purchased from 
a symlicate of Ho(d^ Island capitalists for the 
sum of .|27,fi011, and the following year the 
excavation for six basins was begun. The 
system was a<lo|ited in I'cspiuise to the pains- 
taking efforts of the then uia\(ir, T. .b Medill. 
In 1<S99 the work was done, but imperfections 
in the workmanship brought about through 
l.ilunders on the ]iai't of the engineer in charge, 
developetl, and it becanie necessary to do a. 
.great part of the lining of the basins o\er 
again. The system is now in perfect woid<ing 
oi'der. Its o]ieratiiig capacit\ is ;bOOO,000 
.U'allons daily, which is barely siiHicieiit to 
supply the city's neeils in ordinary times. 
There are two settling basins, three sand 
filters and a large cdeai' water basin, the latter 
ha\ing a <-apacity of 5, .500, 000 gallons. The 
w.-iter is pumped direct from the ri\-er to the 
settling basins and after filtration it i-eturns 
to the mains thriuiuh the acliiui of gra\'it\' 



12S 



// / .S T R I C R C K I .S LAND CO U .V T Y 



which gives sufiicieiit iiressure for <ir(liiiai-\- 
|>iir]iiises. 

l"(ii- Hro |)i-i)t(H'ti(iii and to furnish the bhiff 
district with water, a stand pijje has been 
erected on Tliirtieth Street and last year an 
electric pumping station with a capacity of 
1.500,000 gallons daily was placed near the 
reservoir. 

The total cost of the system to date 
(August, IDOS) has been $260,000. There 
are now 4,400 private consumers, and tAvo 
hundred and fifty fire hydrants, agaiiist one 
hundred and sixty fire hydrants six years ago. 
The average daily water c(nisumption is 
3,000,000 gallons, and daily operating capac- 
ity 16,000,000 gallons. There are about 
forty-five miles of water mains. A new- 
pump was installed at the i)um])ing house in 
February, 1907, at a cost of .f25,f)00, which 
with the addition to tiie building made a 
total expenditure of $40,000. 

ROCK LSr^AND PUliLlC PARKS. 

The parks of Rock Island consist of thi-ee 
pubHc squares, and a tract containing about 
forty acres within the corporate limits, known 
as T.ong Mew Park. The small parks are 
known respectively as Spencer Square, (iarn- 
sey Square and Court House S(|uare. 

Spencer Square is situated in what is known 
as Spencer and Case's Addition, tliis Addition 
was laid out in 1886 l:>y John W. Spencer and 
Jonah Case. \Miat is now known as Spencer 
Square was not laid out in lots, but in the 
first instance was occupied in part for school 
pur])oses, from April, 1S46, to about 1850. 
The little old one-story brick school house 
being in the center of the square, the north- 
west part by the First Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and the southwest jiart by the 
15a])tist Church, It ceiised to be occupied 
for school purposes about the year 1850, iiy 
the Baptists about 1846, and in the year 
1855 the City of Rock Island bought out the 
claim of the .Methodist Chiu'ch. .\fter the 
year 1855 it was not occ>ii)ied for either 



cinu'ch or school purposes. It was fenced in 
by the City, a large Fiberty Pole erected, and 
trees ]ilanted; the fence was removed about 
the year 1870, since which time it has been 
in actual use by the public. 

Previous to the year 1880, occasionally 
during periods of high water in the Missis- 
si])pi River, Spencer Square, then known as 
Fnion Square, was flooded. This continued 
mitil the grade of Second Avenue was raised. 
This jjrevented any further flood on the 
Scpuu'e. Previous to 1889 there existed in 
the City a society known as the Citizens 
Imjirovement Association. This association 
w-as organized for the pvu'pose of advancing 
the imjirovement of the City in matters 
material. 

The first oljjects of improvement advocated 
by the association was the paving of the 
streets and the filling up to grade of Spencer 
Square; the Scpuire before that time was in 
a very rough condition. At one time a 
quarry was opened in the Square by the City, 
very nuich to the disgust of Mr. Ben Harper, 
who in 1870 built what is now known as the 
Harper House, situated on the west side of 
the Square. For the jjurpose of further 
ini])rovement the City Council ajjpointed the 
office of park conimissioner without salary, 
to which office Mayor William McConochie 
api)ointeil William Jackson, a lawyer of the 
Cit.y. Immediately after his appointment 
Mr. Jackson laid out the Square with cros.s 
and interior walks, then called upon the citi- 
zens for donations of statuary, vases, arches 
and other ornaments, the principal orna- 
ment was a fountain donated by Honorable 
Ben T. Cable and Mrs. Fucy Castlenian. 

In 1892 a granite statute of the Indian 
Chief, Black Hawk, was presented by Otis 
J. Dimick, of Chicago, w-ho for many years 
was a resident of Rock Island. Many citizens 
contributed to the oriuimentation, costing 
altogether about $6,500. When completed 
the Square was conceded to be one of the 
handsomest in the northwest, the pride of the 



77 / ,S' T R I C R C K I S L A N D COUNTY 



12!) 



citizens of Rock Island. .Iiidm; Spcticer, 
after whom the Square is iiaiiieil, caine to 
Hock Island about the year 182.S, and resided 
here until his death in 1S7S. He was a kind. 
Christian gentleman, held in high i-egard Ify 
all the people. The Square was named after 
him in 1SS5. 

.Alxnit the year 1871 the hcii-s of .loiudi 
Case endeavored to recover fi-om the City 
an undivided half of the Square, claiming 
that the purposes of the dedication of the 
Square by the proprietors had been abandoned 
by the City and others, and that the ,lonah 
Case half of the Square belonged to his heirs. 
Judge Spencer supported tlie City's claim. 
A suit was brought in the United States Court 
in Chicago by the Jonah Case heirs to reco\-er 
the land, but the court sustained the jtosses- 
sion anfl right of the City. Since that time 
no attempt has been made to disturb tlie 
City in the possessicm of the Square as a 
public park. 

The Court House Squai'e was dedicated fur 
County pxn-poses by the County Commission- 
ers, wlio laiil out the town of Stephenson in 
1S35. Afterwards, in 1S41, it was named the 
town (if Rock lslan<l, Tfie Scpuu'e \^■as nanii'il 
Stephenson Square after (Uie Colonel lienja- 
min Stephenson. On this Square is loc:iteil 
the Court House ami .jail, the first Court 
House was fmilt in is:??, the first jail in \S'.M\. 
The present jail was Ijiult in iSoT. the present 
Court House in 1895. It is never spoken of 
as Stephenson Square, always Court House 
Square. 

Garnsey Sc[uare is located at the \\est end 
of the City, it is located in what is known as 
the Chicago or lower Addition, and was 
first called Franklin Square. It is named 
after Daniel G. Garnsey, who was one of the 
jiroprietors of the Addition. The Square was 
underlaid by a gravel deposit, a few frees 
were grown upon it, but the nature of the soil 
was not favorable to trees and vegetation. 

About the 3'ear ISSl the City Council 
indttced by the po])ularity of the impro\'c- 



ment of Spencer Square, resolved to improve 
Garnsev Square. With that end in view they 
hauled away the gravel underlying tlie Square 
and filled it up with cl.-iy; after that was done 
the Square was gradei-l, trees were planted, 
also improved by walks and cross walks, a 
fountain, the gift of Weyerhaeuser and Denk- 
mann, was ])lace<l in tlie (tenter, and improved 
and ornamented in other respects by gifts 
from citizens. The S(piare is now a beautiful 
public resort. 

Long View Park contains ;d)Out thirty-nine 
acres. It is bounded by Eighteenth and 
Twelfth A\-eiiues, Se\-enteenth and Fifteenth 
Streets. The land was donated to the City 
for park purposes by Frederick Weyerhaeuser, 
Morris Rosenfield. Charles H. Deere and 
Captain T. J. Robinson 

The tleed conveying the land, made by 
Rudolf Weyerhaeuser, who was trustee for 
tlic <lonors, is dated August -M), 1S07, and 
contains a ]iro\ision forbidding the sale, 
barter, gift or us(> of into.xicating liquors on 
the land. 

Al)out 1902 Mr. Chris Gaetjer was appointed 
superintendent of the park without salary, 
but (ui account of the meager aiuiual appro- 
|)riatiims nuide by the City Council little was 
ilone b\- way of iinpro\ement except the 
(deainng u]i of the land and the trimming of 
the trees. 

In 1905 the Honorable (ie:irge \\ . McCask- 
rin, then mayor of the City, for the pm-pose 
of securing the permanent improvement of 
Long View Park, appointed a Board of Park 
commissioners, consisting of William Jackson, 
Fred C. Denkmann, William H. Dart, Otto 
Huber and Ed R. McKown. These gentle- 
men afterwards formulated a plan which was 
concurred in by the City Council, by which 
the City agreed to approjiriate for two years 
the annual sum of .16.250, pro\-ided the 
citizens would suljscrilie a like sum. 

The work of oljtaining sidjscriptions from the 
citizens was begun by the members of the board 
in which they were assisted liy Sujierintendent 



130 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Gaotjcr. The effort was successful. Hy 
the month of May. 1906, the citizens' 
svihscriptioii amounted to over $13,000; there- 
upon the work of permanent improvement 
was begun. The phm of improvement con- 
sisted of hiying out macadamizing and drain- 
ing a road and branch road through the park; 
excavating for two lakes on which Ijeautiful 
swans and water fowl could disport, and be 
viewed w itli pleasure by visitors; the improve- 
ments also including a model public building. 
Cement walks, a waterfall, a brooklet con- 
necting the lakes, a splendid pavilion over- 
looking the Cities of Rock Island and Daven- 
])ort. a rustic bridge and series of dams on 
the line of the lakes and connecting brooklet. 
A beautiful memorial fountain, the gift of 
Misses Naomi and Catherine Davenport, of 
Davenport. Iowa, in memory of their uncle, 
the Honorable Bailey Davenport, deceased, 
several times mayor of Rock Island. Many 
other valuable improvements were made, all 
of which are highly appreciated by the citizens 
of Rock Island, as evidenced by the numbers 
that visit the park daily. On the west side 
of the park is a children's play ground, with 
swings, slides and other fixtures for their 
amusement, the gift of ]Mrs. Anna Davis. 
From the \aried charactei' of the land com- 
posing Long A'iew Park, with its beautiful 
plateaus, mounds, slo|)es, with the improve- 
ments made it is no exaggeration to say that 
when completed it will favorably com])are 
with any park on the Mississippi River; the 
ease by which it can be reached by the people 
will make it always a center where the people 
can enjoy its restful and beautiful surround- 
ings. 

itocK isi..\xi) i'rui.ic scHOor„s. 

'i'he citizens of Rock Island at an earlv day 
eviiu'ed a great interest in education. Prior 
to IS.'iT, the schools of Rock Island existed 
under the sul)-district foiin of organization. 
At this time. lu)wever. the attendance becaine 
so large and the schools were growing so 



rapidly that a different organization became 
necessary in order that the pupils of the 
district might enjoy better facilities for secur- 
ing a common school education. Through a 
united effort a law was enacted to incorporate 
the "Rock Island School District," and a 
charter (.)l.)tained February 18, 1857, for the 
establishment of the present school system. 
This charter which was thus created for the 
government of the Rock Island schools, has 
been in force for over fifty years, and under 
its wise provisions the schools have been 
efficient in providing excellent facilities for 
obtaining a good, common and high school 
education. 

The first Ijoard of education consisted of 
W. L. Sweeney, George Mixter, Jacob Sailor, 
Elton C. Cropper, and David Hawes. Of 
this board Messrs. Cropper, Sailor and Hawes 
served two years, (ieorge Mixter and W. L. 
Sweeney six years. Of the forty-eight per- 
sons who have served on the board since 1857, 
.1. JI. Jiuford served twelve years; S. W. ^Ic- 
Master, eleven years; ^I. I). Merrill, thirteen 
years; V. M. Sinnett. ten years: and .Mylo 
Lee, nine years. 

Among those who have rendered excellent 
service in btiilding u]). from a small beginning, 
the excellent system, were William Bailey, 
(■harles Jiuford, (Ieorge Mixter. Iv C, ('rop]ier, 
,lohn Barge. A, F. Cutter. M. I). .Merrill, 
lidward Burrall. and ^^ . S. Knowlton, who 
have jiassed to their eternal home. They 
are. however, kindly remembered by thou- 
sands who ha\-e enjoyed the educational 
advantages tliev were so largely instrumental 
in providing. 

The first superintendent placed in charge 
of the schools, as organized under the charter, 
was B. M. Reynolds, who ser\ed from LS57 
to 1862. During the past forty years, the 
schools have had ten superintendents, whose 
names and terms of service are as follows: 

B. M. Reynolds. 1857-1862; A. .M, Cow. 
1862-1868; .laines M. (low, 1868-LS69; \\', A, 
Bemis, 1869-1871: .1, F, Cowdv, 1871-1S72; 



HISTORIC ROCK I S LAND COUNTY 



131 



J. F. Kvcrctt. 1S72-1SS1: S. S. Kenil.le. issl- 
1S95; Jaiiios A. Anient, 1895-189(3; I!. C 
Young, 1896-1900; H. R. Hayden. 190(1, ami 
at present, 1908, our good su|)p|-iii(cinli'n( 
and direfdir. 

It will lie olist'r\ed that S. 8. Kcnililc. who 
is largely respoiisihle for the ,sy.><(eni of srhools 
which ha,s been built up in the city, has had 
the longe.st term of ser\-ice, having held tlio 
]iositi(Hi of superintendent for fourteen consec- 
utive years. Superintendent Kenible did a 
grand work in our city during the long Ici-ni 
he had charge of the schools; and, (hcnigh he 
is today fai' away in his western home, lie 
holds a warm place in the affections of our 
citizens, both young and old. 

The schools of the city are as follows: 

High School, Twenty-first Street and Sixth 
Avenue. H. K. Brown, principal; Cora L. 
Eastman, assistant ]3rincipal. 

Hawthorne School, Eighth Street and Third 
Avenue. L. C. Daugherty, ]irincipal; Mary 

E. Entrikin, assistant jirincipal. 
Washington School, Thirteenth Sti'ccl and 

Third Avenue. iMnily Fi-eenum. pi-inci|);d. 

Kend)le School. Nineteenth Street and 
Fifth A\'enue. Adda Ellen Muse, principal. 

Lincoln School, Twenty-second Street and 
Seventh Avenue. Mary Piatt jirincipal. 

School for l)caf Children, in Lincoln School 
building. 

Eugene Field School. Twenty-ninth Street 
and Se^•enth Avenue. Sarah Johnston jirin- 
cipal. 

Irving School, Twelfth Street and Ninth 
Avenue. Leonora AVitherspoon principal. 

Longfellow Scliool, Forty-second Street .'uid 
Seventh Avenue. Ida W. Lundy, ijrincijial. 

Horace Alann School, Thirty-seventh Street 
and Fourteenth Avenue. ^lary L. Carter, 
principal. 

CJrant School. Se\'entli Street and FJle\-enth 
Avenue. Dora E. Newton. ])rincipal. 

Board of Education of 1907 and 1908: (\ 
H. Seidel, \V. H. Mclntyre, Hanilin H. Hull, 

F. C. T)eid<niaim, Doctor .1. \V, Stewart. 



Our distri<-t should congratulate itself upon 
the exceptiomd facilities that have been pro- 
vided for the education of its young people. 
Few cities Inn'c their school buildings more 
wisely disti-jliuted. more substantial in struc- 
ture, and graceful in architectin'e, or more 
completely and comfortably furnished. 

In the ye.-ii' bSoti there was set on fimt a 
plan to erect a High School building. A lot 
was imrchased for $(),000 and a Imilding 
erected for .fs;5(),00(). When nearly finished, 
on the night of .luly 4, 1 8.58, it was fired, and 
the interior entirely destroyed. It was re- 
built and iiccupied in 18,59. The second 
High Scliool was burned I'ebruary 15, 1901; 
after which the classes were conducted in the 
Hroadway Presbyterian Church Sunday School 
rooms. The present High School was erected 
ill 1901. at a cost of $125,000. Mr. Frederick 
F. Borgolte was the architect, and .John Volk 
and Com])any the contractors. 

The original contract was $85,985; extras 
and additions making the lotal .'»125,0()O. 

The ccmd'act was let .lime 4, 1901, and the 
building opened fm' <icciipancy September 6 
nf the same year. While the chief object of 
the High School is the pre)iaration of ]mpils 
for life, rather than foi' college; several 
rni\'ersity preparatury cMiirses are offered. 
(Iradnates of this school who have completed 
any of these courses are entitled to a Uni- 
\(>rsi(y certificate which \y\\\ admit them to 
any of the leatliiig colleges and universities. 

COLLECES. 

.\UGUST.\N'.\ COLLEGE. 

.\ug\istana College ;ind Theological Seminary 
was founded in 18()0, making it one of the 
older educational institutions of the State. 

At a meeting held in Chicago, April 27, 
1860, the founders of the Augustana Synod 
(feeling the urgent need of teachers, preachers 
and citizens ]>repared to take the lead in 
religious and intellectual work) decided to 
erect an institution where young men could 
be pre]iared for the great work of life. This 



132 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



date has been generally ohserved ever since 
as "Founders Day" liy the churches of the 
synod: tlie income from all these celebrations 
to be given to a permanent fund for an 
Aujiustana jjrofessorship. 

During the first three years of its existence 
(1860-1863) Augustana was located at Chicago 
Professor L. P. Esbjorn being president. 
Throuiih inducements from Paxton, Ford 
County. Illinois, in 1863, Augustana was 
moved there, where it remained for twelve 
years, under the successful guidance of 
President Doctor T. N. Has.selquist and 
Professor Henry Rock of Pennsylvania. The 
location at Paxton not being considered 
central enough a removal was very strongly 
urged, some wishing Chicago, and others the 
Mississippi Valley. Rock Island was finally 
chosen and ground broken for the new college. 
A few friends assembled on the forest-covered 
liluff at Rock Island, and as they prayed that 
the institution in its new home should become 
a temple of the Lord and shed its benign 
influence far and wide, they thought of the 
temple of the Israelites, and how men in 
tlicir ])rayers turned toward it as a source oi 
blessing to a whole nation. Filled with this 
feeling, they named the hill "Zion," which 
name it bears to this day. In 1S75 the 
college was opened, altliough not thoroughly 
(•om])leted. Doctor Hasselquist being presi- 
dent and Professor Rock vice-president. 

l''roni these beginnings the institution has 
grown to be a first class American College, 
offering courses and doing work equal to the 
xcry best, with students numbering seven 
hundred and a faculty composed of men 
from the leading American and European 
universities. .All dep;irtments are extremely 
strong and jirogressive. The academic de- 
])artment offers a four-years' course, giving 
preparation for entrance to Vale and other 
universities. l''or graduates who desire to 
become clergymen the institution h.ns an 
excellent tlieologicid seminary. The college 
de])arl nient of four years oH'ers courses in 



classical and scientific work leading to the 
degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of 
Science, recognized by American universities, 
such as Yale and Harvard, and European 
universities. The normal department pre- 
pares students for work as teachers. In the 
conservatory of music thorough instruction 
is given in singing, \-iolin, ]5i])e organ, piano, 
harmony, counterpoint, musical dictation, 
elocution, physical culture, orchestra instru- 
ments, and other subjects. The art depart- 
ment, Tinder the direction of Professor Grafts- 
strom, a fellow student of the great artist, 
Zorn, has shown some excellent work. In 
the business department are taught book- 
keeping, stenography, type WTiting, and 
other necessary commercial branches. It is 
an institution that Rock Island should 
more than be ]jroud of and appreciate. For 
thirty-three years, in which it has made its 
home with us, under the guidance of Doctor 
Gustav Andreen, the scholarly gentleman 
who is now Augustana's ))resident, the college 
is experiencing an unparallelleil ])eriod of 
prosi)erity and growth. 

TFli; \II-LA DIO CII.V.XTAI.. 

This iiistituti<iii (Home school for girls) was 
formerly known as Francis de Sales Academy, 
and was founded in 1864 at .Maysville. Ken- 
tucky. In .\ugiist. 1899. the academy was 
removed to Rock Island. The \'illa de 
Chantal is located on one of the most beautiful 
Ijluffs o^•erlooking the Mississippi, and com- 
manding a superb view of the surixninding 
country. The institution was first incor- 
porated in 1866, under the title of "The 
Sisters of the A'isitation." Maysville, Ken- 
tucky, and after its rcinn\al to Rock Islainl 
it was re-incorporated under the laws of the 
State of Illinois, with the new title. "The 
Sisters of the \'isitation," Rock Island, Illi- 
nois. Hy its charter the academy ])ossesses 
all the rights and privileges of a collegiate 
institution. The cour.se of study cinljraces 
the academic, intermediate and |irimary 
de|)artments. 



;/ / ^' T URIC HO C K I S LAND CO U N T Y 



133 



The araileinic il('|iartiii('u( offers two 
coiirse.s, the general and the college jii-ejiara- 
tory: art. drawing, painting and crayon work 
are provided for in the coui'se. The piano, 
organ, harp, nianilolin and \ ioUii are taught 
liy competent instructors. 

The department of elocution is under th(> 
su])ervision of a finished |)U|)il of thf t'hicago 
School of Oratory. Foreign languages may 
lie studied under the super\'isi(ni of accom- 
])lished linguists. Aesthetic c\dtnre, .-iml ilaily 
physical exercises receive special care. The 
lilirar\- of the \\\\n de Chantal is one of the 
most com[)lete school libraries in the State. 
The City of Rock Island is to lie congratu- 
lated on possessing this excellent educational 
institution. 

Till': liocK isL.WT) rnudc library. 

The pulilic lihrary building of the City of 
Rock Island, is very beautiful in design and 
architectnre, and is the most imposing edifice 
belonging to the city, and of it all its citizens 
are justly proud. In fact it is I'eailily con- 
ceded to lie the most beaut ifid an<l com- 
modious public liuilding in the county, ami 
with its ^•aluable and well selected lilirary, 
both for reference and general literature, its 
influence for good in the community is \-er\- 
great and cannot be over-estimated. Its 
architecture is of "Ionic" design. Its in- 
terior decoration is in "Italian reiuiissance" 
and most beatitifid in design and execution. 
The building comjilete with all furnishings 
together with lot cost ai)j)roximately $94,()0(). 

The present library is the result of arduous 
and incessant toil and attention; and it is to 
be deplored that no I'ecoi'd of the exertions 
and sacrifices of the intellectual men and 
women who were ])rimarily responsible for 
its being, has been preserved. .Ml the facts 
are therefore not obtainable, but this much 
is known ; 

i';arl\- in .June. ISo.i. a few public spirited 
citizens of the city begun the serious consid- 
eration of this (piestion, and it beg.-in to take 



definite form June 20, IS55. The Rock 
Islander of July 4, 1<S55, announced that 
"one of the oldest and most eminent citizens 
will glaiUy gi\'e one hundre(l dollars toward 
a library; provideil nine others would give a 
like amount." Dn Se[)tember 15. 1S55. a 
public meeting of citizens was held in the 
basement of the First Presbyterian Church, 
and was organized b\- the selection of Hon- 
orable M. H. Osborn ;is ch.-iirman and H. C. 
Connelly and (). 1'. \\hartoii as secretaries. 
The desirability of a library <irgaiiization was 
iliscussed by Messrs. i-iailey. Hayes, Pershing, 
Knox and Marshall, and sesulted in the 
appointment of Messrs. Knox. \'elie. Steel, 
T. J. IJnford. Pershing. Fish, Hailey, C'onway, 
Harper and Kelly a committee to solicit sub- 
scriptions u|iou the coiulitions that those 
giving one huudre(l dollars, their children 
lietween the age of fourteen and twenty-one, 
should be life membei's: persons giving fifty 
dollars should be life membei-s; those giving 
twenty-five dollars should be members for ten 
years, those giving ten dollars shouhl be 
meml)ers for four yeai's. .'lud those giving 
three dollars should be mendiers for one 
year. I''i\e humlreil dollars was subscribed 
at that meeting, and .Messis. Knox. Pershing 
and \Mlkinson were appointeil a c<immittee 
t<i draft a const it ution. 

On October 3, 1855, the organization was 
completed by the adoption of the name of the 
"Rock Island City Library and Reading 
Room Association" and the election of the 
Honorable Joseph Knox president, H. C. 
Connelly vice-president, Honorable ^^ . M. 
Hailey treasurer and R. M. Marshall secre- 
tary. .At this meeting Mr. C. H. Waite of 
Chicago donated lot thr(>e, block lifty-f liree, 
Chicago or Lower .\<ldition. \'alue(l at two 
hundred dollars, to the .Association, and the 
hall committee was instructed to (it up 
"Library Hall" on the third floor of Hailey 
and Hoyle's l.ilock. On October '24. LS55. an 
advertisement was inserted in the Rock 
hliiiidcr for a librari;in. and Mr. Hicli.ai'd P. 



134 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Cropper was chosen librarian. The reading 
room was opened about November 7, 1855, 
from 10 A. M. to 10 P. M. On December 3, 
1855, announcement was made that a hxrge 
invoice of books had been received from New 
York and that the fully e(|uipped library 
woulil be opened to the public on Tuesday 
and ^^'ednesday following, from 10 to 12 
A. M., 1 to 5:30 and 6:30 to 10 P. M. In 
1857 the number of volumes had increased 
to 1,000. For many years this association 
was prosperous, and proved a great benefit 
to the city. After some years the interest 
seemed to wane, and Mr. Charles Pettifer 
became librarian. During his incumbency the 
library substantially ceased to be popular and 
it was closed. 

Afterward some of the young men of the 
city organized an association known as the 
"Young Men's Liljrary Association," and the 
library of the original association passed to 
its control. It continued to be a live and 
valuable association until the organization of 
tlie present City Library, having increased 
the uuml)er of \'olumes to '2,000, and was sup- 
)>orted l)y the annual dues of its members. 

It was not until August, 1S72. that full 
public cognizance was taken of tlie manifold 
and far-reaching value of such an organiza- 
ti(ui. In this last mentioned year the General 
Assembly of this State jiassed the present 
library law, and it was approvetl and came in 
force March 7, 1872. A few of the leading 
citizens of the City readily realized that a 
public lii)rary would be of inestimable value 
to the City, and they promjitly ]iroceedecl to 
avail themselves of the law, and their efforts 
to th;il end were readily sup])orted liy the 
mayor and City Council of the City. On 
.August 12, 1S72, the City Council pa.ssed an 
ordinance organizing a public library as a 
part of the City government, and at the same 
meeting Messrs. Henry Curtis anil K. I). 
Sweeney appeared before the cuuncil, and on 
behalf of the " N'oiuig .Men's Library .\ssocia- 
lion," donated tic entire librarv of that 



association, consisting of aljoiit 2,000 volumes, 
to the City. Thus the present public library 
was established, and it is believed to ha\'e 
been the second library established under the 
law of 1872. 

On October 12, 1872, IMayor Bailey Daven- 
port recommended to the City Cotmcil that 
Messrs. Edward Lurrall, Cornelius Lynde, 
junior, E. D. Sweeney, W. H. Gest, L. M. 
Haverstick, ^Milton Jones, Conrad Spiedel. 
R. Lloyd and P. T. McElhern shotild consti- 
tute the first l;)oard of directors, and they 
were unanimously appro^•ed as such directors. 
The l>oard organized by the election of 
Edward Jiurrall as president and E. 1). 
S^\■eeney as secretary. 

The discussion of the pro])osition to erect 
a new library building in the City liegun as 
early as 1895, and serious consideration was. 
given it by the lioard of directors, collectively 
and individually, from time to time; but 
definite action to that end was delayed for 
the reason that the majority of the board 
thought it inadviseable to increase the ta.xa- 
tion upon the citizens to the e.xtent necessary 
for such purpose. During these years the 
different mendjers of the board gave the 
((uestion much thought, and various wealtliv 
citizens of the City were ai)proaclied upon 
the subject, with the view to elicit their co- 
oj)eration and financial aid toward (he erec- 
tion of a suitable building as early as 1897. 
Mr. Frederick Weyerhaeuser early showed an 
interest in the project, and iirojMised to join 
with others he mentioned in pnnidiim a fiuid 
with which to !)uild; but as no one else would 
co-operate the project failed, ^Ir. Andrew 
Carnegie's attention was called to the needs 
of the City by one or more citizens other than 
members of the loard of directors, bill with- 
out l)eing able to interest him in tl:e matter, 
'i'lie accomodations for the lib:-arv beca'ue 
so poor and inadcfpiate and the growing needs 
of the library so great, that finally the li );u'il 
of directors, which ciuisiste 1 of Ciiai'les L. 
Walker, president : .lohu W. Welch, secretary: 



HISTORIC RO C K ISLAND CO U N T Y 135 

;iii(l Walter .Icihnson. l.niiis Kuliii, Charles J. the iniiiicdiate erection of a Uhrary l)Hildinfi', 

Larkui. ('. \\'. l''oss, Charles Kieliiji, Alexander had very .Si'euerously offered to jiive the 

de Solaud. and Joseph Kerr, were coniiielled hoard outright $10, ()()() and to loan them 

to take action lookiufj toward the erection of $"i(), ()()() at five jH'r cent, |)ro\'ided a fire proof 

a new lilirary Imildinp; Ijy <;eneral taxation, and ornamental hiiildiiif; he erected. This 

and in view of the steady advance in real offer was i!;l:i<ll.\' accepted and plans for s\ich 

estate it seemed iniperati\(' that a suitable a Ijnililini; were ordereil. Mr. l.eonai-il Drack, 

site be secnred without delay, and tlie ho.ard arcliitect, suhmitlecl plans of I hi' present 

finallv, on October 10, ISDlt, appointetl a bnildinn', bnt when the bids for its erection 

committee to consider the nudter and report. were ()|)ened, il was fonnd that il could not 

On March (i, IltOO, the commilfee reported be erected within the amount at the disposal 

that they had (detained .-in option on the of the board, except by climinatinfi the 

present |)remises for $S,;")OII, .and t he ciimmittee beautiful columns and pilasters. This dilem- 

was continned to further consider the (|ues- ma was subnntted to Mr. W'eyerluieuser, and 

liim. On April 7. 11)00, they reported that he in,sisted that the beauty of the l)uildin,si 

Messrs. Drack and Kerns liad been employed should not be sacriticed: and in order to |ire- 

to prejiare iirelinunary plans for a suitafile vent it, generously ii^ww %'IJMU in addition, 

librarv Itnilding, and such plans were sul)- and ]nirsna(led Mr. !•'. C. A. Denkmaiin to 

milted, with the estim.-iteil cost of $70,000. .siive a like amount. Subseipient ly, in ord(M- 

The board unanimously ajiproved such re|iort to enable the board lo licpiidate the extra 

and phins, and passei.l the re((uired resolution cost of the buihlin,!^ occasione(l by the difH- 

for the erection of the building, out of {i'cneral cnlty of t;ettin,ii a safe fcnmdation and some 

taxes, to be collected in seven yearly install- other necessary changes, .Mr. Weyerhaeuser 

ments. On Aj^ril 9, litOO, the City Council gave the fm-ther sum of .$r),3()!l.32, and 

authorized and directed the board of directors hnall\- his generosity iiiduceil him to purchase 

to proceed to have such buildinfi: erected. thirty feet additional ground adjoiinng the 

I'or this action, and the liberal and pro- library lot on the east, so as to make the 

gressive spirit nnmifested, the people are lot one hmidred and fifty feet sipiare, thus 

indebted to the following city othcers: Hon- nud<ing his total gift to the library ■$2(),7(iVJ,32. 
orable William ^tcConochie, Mayor; II. C. The contract for the building was entered 

Schaffer, city clerk: and .Mdermen (ieorge into September U). I'.ml, with Collins Hroth- 

W. Aster, Fred (iall, John Lawhead, Thomas ers as general contrai'tors, for $5.S,147, wl 



lO 



A. Pender, H. L. \Mieelan, Andrew Soder- immediately begiui work. The corner stone 

Strom, Michael Concannon, Charles Willis. was lai<l in the Fall of Ilt0l2, and the building 

Albert Johnson, Robert Heck, Charles Heide- was opened to the public for general n.se 

nuuin, Hasilins Winter, J. O. I'reed and Henry December 15, 190:?. The first floor consists 

J<;i\vell. mainly of one large i-oom, di\-ideil only by the 

On June 12, 1900, the board reipiesteil thai delivery desk with its atlachments and 

the first installment of $10,000 be levied, .'lud metal stacks, into sla(d< roimi, reading room, 

the Cit\- ('(umcil ou .lune '-'(i, 190(1, duly reference room and rhildi-en's room. To the 

onhTcd such levy. August '-'O, 1900. the right of the stack room arc the librai'ian's 

buaiil of directors obtained a deed for the ollice and the work room. The stack room 

lots (UL which the building now st.-inds. will accommodate (iO.DOO volumes. Cp stairs 

On Xovemjjer l.'i, 1900. .Mr. Walker re- are the directoi's' rooiu. art room and audience 

ported to the board of dircclors thai .Mr. ;-o(un, the latter to be useilin the future for a 

Frcilerick \\'eyerhaeuser, in ordei- to permit general reading room. In the b.-isement are 



136 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



rooms for Government documents, newspaper 
files, heating plant, lavatories, etc. All are 
finished in quarter-sawed oak. in antique 
finish. The rooms are thus conveniently 
arranged for entire supervision from the 
delivery desk, and the rooms are spacious 
and airy. It is, withal, a public institution 
for which the jjeople of the city and county 
are justly proud, and for this they are largely 
indebted to the generosity and public spirit 
of Mr. Weyerhaeuser. It contains, in round 
numbers, 18,000 volumes, l>esides pamjihlets, 
which are freely loaneil to all citizens. The 
art and assembly rooms are large and well 
adapted to such uses, and the directors' room 
is beautifully decorated and furnished. 

The building committee consisted of Mr. 
v. L. \^'alker. elected member of the board in 
July, 1.S91, and who has been its president 
since July 2.5. 1893; Mr. J. W. Welch, ap- 
pointed a member of the board in 1890, and 
has been its secretary since July 2.5. 1891; 
C. J. Jjarkin, appointed in 1886. and Louis 
Kfihii, ajspointed in 1894. The present 
members of the board are Charles L. Walker, 
John W. Welch, Claude W. Foss, Charles J. 
I^arkin, Louis Kohn, Charles Fiebig, Ale.x- 
ander de Soland, C. P. Comegys and Doctor 
Joseph DeSilva. Miss Ellen Gale is the 
librarian, and Miss Fanny F. Cleland first 
assistant librarian, and Miss Elsie Schocker 
second assistant. The library and reading 
rooms are open from 9 A. j\I. to 9 P. M. on 
week days. 

HOSPITALS AND HOMES. 

For a city the size ol' llock Island, it is 
adeciuatel\- supplied with institutions for 
careing for the sick, injured and indigent. 

JU'thany Home, for neglected children, 
()r])hans and (h'serving ])oor, located in the 
upper end of Hock Island, on Fifth Avenue, 
was formerly known as tiu' I'nion ^lissitni. 
and was located at JMghth Street and {''oiu'tii 
Avenue. Later it was tran.sferred to Soutli. 
Rock Island, wl.ere it was maintained until 



January 3, 1906. The new quarters are of 
brick, and are capable of accomniodating 
fifty children. There are now forty inmates. 
The cost of the present home, inclusive of 
SI. 000 transferred in real estate, was 110,600. 
It was incor])orated July 12, 1899, and its 
donors and supporters ran into the hundreds. 
It is non-sectarian. 

ST. .\.\THr)\Y's HOSPIT.\L. 

This magnificent and much needed struc- 
ture was originally established in 1894, under 
the care of the Franciscan Sisters of the 
Immaculate Conception. In 1904 the present 
building, including the new section and alter- 
ations, was completed at a total cost of 
.^eO.OOO. The hospital is now self-supporting, 
twelve nurses are employed,. twelve sisters are 
retained to perform the necessary work aside 
from nursing, and it has a ca])acity of one 
hundred patients. The building is an im- 
posing four-story brick structure, and is 
surrounded by a beautiful and spacious lawn. 
Miss Mary N. Robertson, widel\- known for 
ability as a trained nurse, is superin- 
tendent. 

CEMETERIES. 

Chippiannock Cemetery Association of Kock 
Island was organized in 185.5. The cemetery 
grounds occupy a beautiful natural spot of 
sixty acres, one mile soutli of the City of 
Rock Island. Outside of the natural advan- 
tages, the grounds are beautifully laid out in 
winding drives and walks, according to- plans 
made by Mr. Hotchkiss, who laid out the 
celebrated Greenwood Cemetery of Brooklyn. 
New York. The grounds are mainly sl;)ping. 
with the hill top flat, backed by a wooded 
raxiiie. and are nicely timl)ered with tine old 
trees. It is an ideal s]iot for a cemetery, and 
surpassed by m^vv few in natural beauty. 
The name Chii^piannock is ol' Imlian cii'i,ii"in. 
and means "(Ity of the Dead." lleic I'cst 
over 7.000, including those re:no\ed from the 
old ccmete:-\- at the head of I'^asjle Street. 



HISTORIC RO C K ISLAND CO U N T Y 



137 



Ttip Helirew HiirviiiK (ii-diiiid Assdciaticm 
of Rdck Islaiiii was orfiaiiizeil in 1S6!). ami 
(iwns (iiic acre in ('hi|i|iianii(ick ('enieterv. 
very beautifully laiil cmf and enclosed with 
a fine hedge. 

Calvary Cemetery Association, adjoining 
('lii|i|iiannock C'emetoi'y on the southeast 
cornel-, contains about hxt' acres, an<l was 
establisheil nearly fifty years ago. Tliree 
years a,u;o it was incorporated under the name 
of "('al\-ary Cemetery Association," and is 
controlled by a lioard of directors. In this 
cemetery rest abc)ut one thousand, 

St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, located 
south of Chi]i].Hannock and Calvary, was 
instituted aliont ten years afi'i, and is fiuv- 
erned by a board of directors, 

Carr's Cemetery is located in South Ruvk 
Island, north side of the river road. 

Dickson Cemetery, is located in Sears. 

Lutheran Cemetery, located on the Twenty- 
fourth Street hill, one-half mile south of city 
limits. 

BANKS OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY. 

Before entering into tletails of the banks of 
Rock Island County it. would be well to recall 
early conditions and incidents. 

Within the last tifty-si.\ years there have 
been numerous panics, but none so disastrous 
locally as that of 1857 and 1858. Foin- banks 
in Rock Island were reduced to one (Mitchell 
and Cable) as the immediate result, and that 
bank and the liank of Could, Dimock and 
Company, Moline, were the only bard<s in the 
county for several years. The bulk of the 
currency in this section in thiose days was 
issued by the Bank of Florence, organized b\' 
Cook. Sargent and Parker, but if was l()cat('(l 
at Florence, Nebraska, which is still an 
insignificant subiu'b of Omaha. It must be 
remembered that there \\as no railinad across 
the State of Iowa in LS.57, hence tlic place of 
ultimate redem])tion of Florence money was 
practically inaccessible. As long as the power- 



ful banking house of Cook and Sargent at 
Davenport voluntarily redeemed the notes, 
they stood high I)ut when that firm went 
down in the |ianic great distress followed in 
this section. 

As far as I know there was never but one 
daylight baid\ hold-up in the county. .March 24, 
1S56 there was a robbery of .f5,(K)ll from the 
bank of ('ord\, Sargent and I'arker in Rock 
Island. Mr. I'arkei'. the cashier, was out of 
the city, and at the nomi hour A. F, Heath, 
l.)0okkeeper, had gone to the Rock Island 
House for diiuier, leaving the teller, .lohn 
Thorington, alone in the ollice. Thorington 
said he was assaulted by three men, having 
been knocked down with a slung shot, and that 
the robbery and escape followed. 

He dragged himself into the adjoining 
hardware store of Harper and Steel in a \'ery 
much battered state. Alarm was immedia- 
ately given and officers and citizens, liorse- 
back and afoot, swarmed over the city ami 
surrounding country, but withcuit a\ail. The 
matter is still a mystery. 

.luly 20. 1!)()4, burglars made a desperate 
attempt to enter the safe of the State Maid< of 
East Moline. With a liberal use of nitro- 
glycerine they blew off the outer safe door, 
but left at about two o'clock in the morning 
without having made any impression on the 
biu'glar proof luonev box. 

While they did not get a cent of money 
they made a sad wreck of office and furniture. 
No clew was ever obtained of the burglars. 
Charles Fiebig, lock expert of this city, 
opened the money chest next morning and 
contents were intact and uninjured. 

.lohn L. Drew, of Davenport, was a clerk 
in the bank of ('o(d<, Sargent and Parker of 
Hock Island in 1S54, c(uit inning with tie 
bank of Mitchell and Cable for a few mcuiths 
during the year of 1 ,S,if'). He. therefore. ser\ed 
as a banker at an earlier date than aii\" lixiir: 
man in this section. Hiuiorable .1. .M . Cnul I 
late of Moline, served for a great many 



138 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



successive years as a banker, and is the pioneer 
living bank president. Phil Mitchell com- 
menced his bank service in 1S6.3: it 
has been practically continuous, and he is 
probably entitled to credit for longest 
service. 

In order to sliow the growth of the banking 
business it may be said that in 1873, which 
was a panic year, deposits in all the banks in 
the county did not e.xceed $600, UUU. Now 
they are $11,800,000. 

The first bank in this section was that of 
Cook antl .Sargent, established in 1847 at 
Davenport. It continued in business, as the 
leading bank on the upper Mississippi until its 
failure in the panic of 1858. Its owners, 
Ebenezer Cook, John P. Cook and George B. 
Sargent, were able financiers, and at the time 
of the failure they jirobably owned more 
good Iowa land than any later firm or indi- 
vidual, but it could not be sold at any ])ricc 
in those distressing times. 

The first bank in Rock Island County was 
that of Cook, Sargent and Parker, which in 
1852 occupied the room now occupied by 
T. H. Thomas, Second Avenue and Seven- 
teenth Street. In 1854 this bank was moved 
to the quarters now occupied by the State 
P.ank of Rock Island, its successor, showing 
a continuous existence of more than fifty-six 
years. It is the oldest bank in the State of 
Illinois, save one. In 1856 the late P. L. 
Mitchell, and the late P. L. Cable came to 
liock Island from Kentucky and bought out 
the Cook, Sargent and Parker bank, con- 
tinuing the business under the firm name of 
Mitchell and Cable until 1860, when the 
late Cornelius i.yiide, junior, bought out Mr. 
Cable's interest, and the firm became Mitcliell 
and Lynde, which firm was in turn succeeded 
by the present State Baid< of Rock Island in 
1 905. 

In the latter part of I S.j'J or early 1S53 the 
late Isaac Negus, and the late William L. Lee 
and the Late M. H. ()sboi-n organized the Hock 



Island Hank, a state institution, and author- 
ized under the then existing state banking 
law to issue bank notes, which it did liberally. 
John H. Kinney, now of Chicago was 
cashier for several years. This was the 
first bank of issue in the county, and it 
is fair to state it met every dollar of 
its obligations, both to depositors and note 
holders, chiefly through the financial rectitude 
and moral stamina of the late Isaac Negus, 
who stood by it manfully, and was its last 
president when its bank building and business 
were sold to Mitchell and Lynde in 1861. 

The Bank of the Federal Union of Rock 
Island was organized in 1856 l)y the late 
General N. B. Buford. H. C. Blackljurn and 
Bushrod Birch, all brothers-in-law. This was 
also a bank of issue as well as deposit and 
succumbed to the panic of 1857 and 1858. 

In 1S56 there was the jirivate l.)anking 
house of Fish, (ioodale and Lee at Rock 
Island. This bank also went out of Ijusiness 
in the panic of 1857 and 1858. but our late 
fellow citizen, Mylo Lee, was the medium 
through which every dollar of its ol)ligations 
were jjaid. 

Mitchell and Lynde continued to l)e the 
only bank in Rock Island fi'om 1861 to I860, 
when P. L. Mitchell and Cornelius Lynde, 
junior, organized the First National Bank of 
Rock Island, capital $100,000. with P. L. 
Mitchell as president antl J. M. Buford as 
cashier. It was among the earliest of tlie 
national banks to be in o])eration in the 
United States, its charter number fieing 
one himdred and eight. It continued in 
business until 1800, when its busine.ss was 
merged with that of Mitchell and Lynde. 

The next bank to be started in Rock Island 
was the Rock Island National Bank, in 1871. 
whose first president was the late Captain 
T. J. Robinson, and first cashier .Mi-. .\. 
Benedict, now of San .lose, California. .Mr. 
Benedict served i)iit a short time and lie was 
succeeded b\' the late .1. I\ Piobiiisoii. tlie 



HISTORIC ROCK I S L A X J) COUNTY VM) 

])resent ofHfers l)einf>: H. E. Casteel, iiresitlciit ; nlficcrs heinii ('. H. Deere, president; Morris 

M. S. Heagy. vice-president; antl H. 1^. Sim- Rosenfield, vice-president, and J. S. Giliiiore, 

mon, cashier, ('apital, SlOO, ()()(). cashier, merged with the Peoples Savings 

The l'ei)])les Natiimal Hank of Kock Island Hank and Trnst ("ompany in 1005. 

— capital, $100, ()()() was organized in liS74, The Peoples Savings Hank and 'I'nisl 

with I-Jailey Davenport as president, Joseph Company of Moline was organized in 11)0,5. 

Rosenfield, \ice-])resident and ,Tohn Peetz as ('a|iital, $1.')0,000. This was a consolidation 

cashiei-. Its preseid officers are Otto Htd)ei\ with the First National Hank, and Peojdes 

president, and Carl Hellpenstell, vice-president Savings Bank of Moline. Its first officei-s 

and caslner. were C. H. Deere, picsident ; H. 1,. Chapman, 

The Hock Island Savings liank «as the vice-president; and ,1. .S. (lilhriore, cashier, 

tirst sa\'ings hank, and first state liaidc to l)e The present officers ai'e William Hutterwoi't h. 

organized nndei' the ]iresent Illinois hanking ])resident; N. H. (Ireen, \ice-presidenf ; and 

laws in the county. Capital, iflOO.OOO. The C. W. Lnndahl, cashier. 

first officers were \\. P. Reynohls, [iresident. The Manufacturers Hank of .Moline was 

and J, M. Huford, cashier, which jjosition he orgaiuzed under a state charter in I Slid. \\^ 

retained up to the time of his election to the tirst officers were S. W. Wheelock. president; 

presidency to succeed the late P. r>. Mitchell. , Porter Skinner, vice-])resident ; C. W. I.olxlell. 

The ]iresent officers are Phil. Mitchell, |ii'esi- cashier; and C. ¥. Hemen\\a\-. .■issistani 

dent; H. P. Hull. vice-|)resident. and I'. cashier, 

(ireenawall, cashier. It was succi^eiled in I ST'J li\- the .Molme 

The Central 'J'rust and Saxings J5aid< of National Bank — capital, .SI 00.000 with tlic 

Rock Island — capital, .1100,000 — was organ- same officers as al>o\-c, and this hank was in 

ized in ISO!), and its ]iresent officers are H. E. turn succeeded in 1000 liy the State Saxiniis 

Casteel, jiresident; M. S. Heagy, vice-jiresidcnt i^ank and Trust Company, of Moline capital, 

and H. B. Simmon, cashier. .5200,000. The present ollicers are !•'. C. 

In Moline. Chapnnin Jirothers conducte(l a .Mien, ]iresident ; C. 1. .losephson, xice-presi- 

snndl l)aid<iiig and exchange business, with dent; and Sol. Hirsch, cashier, 

insurance agency, as early as 1856, hut they In 1 Stil? W. II. I )evore started a pi-i\:iic 

failed in the ensuing p;inic, and it may he hank at Port H\i-on. .\t first it was under 

tridhfully said the hegiuning of the haidcing the name of H>rown and ])evore, hut .Mr. 

business in Moline was in 1N57, when (unild, Dexore succeeded and rcuitinned until Siinon- 

Diniock and Company started their pris'ate sou and Schafer hecaine his successor, to he 

bank. in turn succeeded by the present Poi'f Hyinu 

This haid< was succeeded in Decembei', State Bank — capital, $50,000. The pi-es(>nt 

1863, l:)y the h'ii'st National Bank of Moline, officers are .1. W. Simonson, ju-esident ; 

with J. S. Iveator as president, and .1. .M. !■'. S. (iates, \ice-pi('sident ; B. H. Huntley, 

(iovdd as cashier, .hiliu Deere was president • cashier. 

ill 1866, succeeded hy .1. -M. • lould as i)i-esi(lent Iv Iv Rogers and Sims started in Ihe 

and ,]. S. Cdllmore cashier in 18()7, H. S. pri\-ate banking business in Port H\i-(ui in 

Chaiinian becoiuiug \ice-president in 1005, ISTI , the partners being Iv Iv Rogers. l-"rank 

succeeding .1. T. Hi'owuing. It was inergecl !•]. Rogers and Iv M. Rogers, the l)aid< lieim; 

with the Peoples Sa\'iugs Hank and Ti'ust known as the Hank of Port Byron. 

ConipauN- in 1005. .M. Schoonmaker started the |{e\ii 1 l.s 

The Peoples Savings P.aiik of .Moline Hank, at Reynolds, in I SN.S. a private h.-inl.. 

capital. .'^10I1.(I0() organized in ISOl. its tirst which was sold to \\. I'. Wail and Ccuupauv 



140 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAN D COUNTY 



several years thereafter, who continue the 
business. 

The Farmers State Bank of lieynolds was 
organized in 1904— capital, $25,000— with M. 
Schoonmaker, president; Elisha Lee, vice- 
]iresident; and J. E. Lee, cashier. 

The State Bank of East Moline was organ- 
ized in 1904— capital, .$25,000. Its first 
officers were Phil Mitchell, president; Daniel 
McNeal, vice-president: and B. J. Mitchell, 
cashier. The present officers are .T. A. 
O'Neil, president; William .lackson. vice- 
president; and F. A. Sndlow, cashier; 

R. P. Wait started the private Bank of 
Taylor Ridge in 1905. 

H. R. t'ox started tlie })rivate Bank of 
Silvis in 1907, which is the last one to be 
started in tlie county. i 

ROCK LSLAND MANUFACTORIES. 

Our manufacturing interests are strong and 
growing every day. Space forliids our men- 
tioning everybody. The products of the 
factories are very diversified, and all, large 
and small, are on a good sound basis, with 
a very satisfactory business. 

The Rock Island Plow Company was orig- 
inally established in 1854 by Charles Buford 
and R. N. Tate; afterwards named B. D, 
Buford and Comjiany," and later the Rock 
Island Plow Company. They manufacture 
high grade agricultural implements; mainly 
plows, cultivators, harrows, hay loaders and 
other farm implements. The company has 
recently been re-organized, increasing its 
capital stock from .f600,000 to $2,600,000. 

Weyerhaeuser and Denkmann Company, 
manufacturers of and dealers in lumber, lath, 
shingles, and anything connected with that 
line of business. Thej' are also the largest 
general concern in the logging and timber 
interests in the United States. 

Rock Island Stove \\'orks, nninufacture all 
kinds of cooking stoves, ranges and heating 
stoves. 



Rock Island L\imber and Manufacturing 
Company. A general line of lumber, moiUd- 
ings, etc. 

Rock Island Sash and Door \\()rks. Whole 
sale manufacturers of everything in sash, 
doors, blinds and mouldings. 

THK ST.\XDARD TAl'.LK OIL CLOTH COMPANY. 

In .Inly. 1901, the organization of the 
Standard Tal)le Oil Cloth Company was 
effected; scA-en manufacturers sold their 
plants to the Standard Company. These 
])lants were largely located in the east. The 
]iroduct of the company is light weight oil 
cloth. l)y which is meant oil cloth manufac- 
tured on a cotton base used for covering 
tables, imitations of leather, bag muslin, 
shelf and stair oil cloth. The company has 
never manufactured oil cloth for floors, which 
is a separate industry, inasmuch as floor oil 
cloth is manufactured on a burlap instead of 
a cotton base, the machinery and method of 
manufacture being entirely different. 

The growth of the business, particularly in 
the west necessitated the erection of a new 
plant, one of the largest of its kind in o]jera- 
tion, at Rock Island, Illinois, with a frontage 
on the Mississippi Ri\-er. This plant in time 
will likely be the largest plant of its kind in 
the world. It is centrally located, has good 
shiiiping facilities and caters tf) the wants of 
the richest country on the globe; the Mis- ■ 
sissip])i and Missoui'i \'aUeys. 

The output of the Standard Company has 
steadily increased. For its last fiscal year 
it manufactured about 36,000 miles of light 
weight oil cloth, one yard wide. Its trade 
mark " Meritas," which is stamped on the 
back of every yard of its product in oil cloth 
is well known in all commercial centers. A 
large export business is done. 

One of the products of the com])any which 
has been recently introduced to the ])ublic is 
a washable wall covering called " Sanitua." 
This new product is meeting with great 
success. 



// / S TORI C ROC K I S L A X D COUNTY 141 

III May. ](M)7, the assets of tlie Stamlanl IS!)4 the anmial receipts had increased t(i 

Talih' Oil Cloth Coinpaiiv were sohl to the *--'.37,619.05. 

Staiulard Oil Cloth Coiii|)aii\- iiiuler a merger How liiiicli lieueht lias accrued from this 

agreement, the directors and ofhcers retain- association to the City of Rock Island in 

iiig their positions. promofinf; haliits of thrift and economy, in 

The Standai-d Oil Cloth Conipaiiy has a furnishiuK the means whereliy rent jiayers 

capital stock of $(). 00(1, (Hill: S;{, 00(1, 110(1 of conlil lieccnne home owners; in ])nttin.e; life 

preferred and S;5, 000. 00(1 of common. Its into real estate investments genei-ally and in 

ofhcers are as follows: President and treas- stimnlatinfr all the bnilding trades, can harilly 

iirer, Henry M. Carli(d<. 'N'oiintistowii. Ohio; he (n'erestimatei.l. 

vice-president, Ceorfie H. Hughes. Xe\\ Tliroiii;h the medium of this association 

York Citv; secretary and jieneral nianaf;er. oxer two thou.sand citizens have l)eeu enaljled 

Ah'in Hiinsicker, New York City; assistant to pi-o\ide their families with homes on the 

treasui'er. W. K. Thatcher. Orange, New payment of monthly installments, no more 

Jersey. hurdensome than the monthly jniyment of 

The coni]:)aiiy is the largest of its kind in rent. Savings depositors ha\'e l)een accorded 

the world, and employs a large nnnilier of tlie full earnings of their moneys and these 

men in its \-arious plants. earnings have averaged consideraliiy above 

Among the many other enterprising in- the rates that money could he loaned for. 

dustrie.s are found : There are no favored stockholders to al)sorb 

National Neck Yoke Company. the ma.jor part of the earnin.ns. The a.ssocia- 

Fremont Butter Tul) Company. tion is jiurely mutual. .\11 the earnings are 

El(>ctric Construction and .Machinery Com- divided equitably ]>ro rata according to the 

pan\-. amount and tlie time of im-estment. 

Colona S.aiid Stone (Quarries. The association's motto is: "Tlie Amei-ican 
Rock Island Skirt Company. Home is the Safeguai'd of .Vmerican Liber- 
Kramer Printing and Pulilishiiig Comiiany. ties." 
successors to Kramer and Company, the old 
I'eliable printin,ir and book bindiiii; establish- 
ment. 

The Blaidv Hawk lloiiicslead Building, 

Pril,|)lX(; .\SSOClATlO.\S. j„.^,, .,„^. ^.^,.„,^^ A.ssocati.m, of Rock 

Island. Illinois, was incoi-porated iimler the 
laws of the State ol' Illinois on .Inly '2o, 1SS7, 
with an authorized capital stock of *1,()()0,000, 

In the year IS.SO on the invitatH.u of ilic ,.„nsisting of ten th(nisand shares of erne 

late Samuel S. (luyer. the pioneer savings i„|,„i,.(,i , Miliars each, to be i.ssued in series 

institution of R.ick I'sland was organized. .^^ ^],p discretion ..f the board of directors. 

This institution was one of the first Building >^„ „.,.e,,^ ^^..^^ t^,. ,|,.inand for the .stock, the 

Associations organized in Illinois and has .,ss,„.iation. at the end of two years, was 

been the model for many similar a.ss.icial imis ,.,„„, .pHe,] to increa,se its authorized capital 

ill this an.l adjoining States. ^j,,,.,^ ^„ Ijl 0,000,00(1. 

During the hrst year the total receipts were j\,i^ a.ssociai imi lia> \>v resolution of its 

only IS4.-2(i:^.70. Miit so rapidly were the hiKird of directors issued series every three 

Im'estiiig public ediicaled in the ail\ ,in( .ages months. The stock isissiieil iii three classes, 

of ihe liuilding .Association. tli.Mt in the \'eal' naiucK': ".\," ''1!" and "('/' ;iiid pa\abh' 



THK iiL.\CK ii.\UK noM i:sri. \i> nriLOixci, lo.w 
.\M) sA\i\i;s Assciii \-ri(i\. 



THl: HOCK ISLWK .MU'nWL ntlLDIM,, I.llW 

A\l) s\\i\i;s ,\ssiici.\Tl()\. 



142 



HISTORIC RO C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



as follows: Class "A," fifty cents per share 
per month: class "H," one dollar ]3er share 
|)er month: and class "('." two dollars per 
shai'e per month, maturinn' to ]iar valne of 
one hnndred dollai's ])er share in one 
hnndred and thirty-sc\-en months, seventy- 
nine month.s and forty-fi\e months, respec- 
tivel^v. 

This money i.s loaned by the association to 
its stockholders at the rate of six per cent 
])er annum, and a monthly premium of twenty 
cents per share per month. Thus, a stock- 
holder havinfi' a lot of sufficient value to 
warrant a loan for l)uildinf;; a house is enabled 
to acquire a home by the payment of 
easy monthly installments similar to house 
rent. 

Throug:h this system, the association has 
prospered wonderfully, and in the twenty 
and a half years of its existence has loaneil 
to its .stockholders over $1,700,000, providing- 
money for the luiilding of houses to the 
numl)er of eighteen hnndred in the Cities of 
Uock Island and Moline. Estimating the 
[xiindation on the basis of five to a family, 
the association has pro\'i(led homes for nine 
thousand people, which in itself would luake 
a city of no mean ])ro])ortion.' 

This associati(jn is to be regarded also 
from the standpoint of a savings bank, and in 
this feature cannot be excelled. It affords 
an op])ortunity to those who are desirous of 
sa-ving money in small amounts of one dollar 
and ujiwards. and ])ays a liberal interest njion 
tlieir investment. It has. during the time of 
its existence jxiid out to retiring and maturing 
stockholders. S2.'2.")().()()(). 

The oHicers of the association at ])resent 
are: E. 1). Sweneey, president; H. H. 
Cleaveland. vice-president; F. K. Rhoads, 
treasurer; T, .1. Me<lill. secretary; and Sweeney 
and Walker, attorneys. 

Tlie office of the association is suite No. 
210, Peoples National Hank building. Rock 
Islanil, Illinois. 



IXDrSTHIAL coM:\nssioN. 

]!RII;I'- OUTLIXK OF THE HISTORY Ol" THI^, IX- 
ni^STRIAL rOM.MISSIOX. 

Following a wide spread movement among 
cities and towns to develop their commercial 
and manufacturing importance and recog- 
nizing that this could liest be attained through 
an organization whose efforts would be con- 
fined to this field of activity the Industrial 
Commission of Rock Island was created. 

The first step necessary thereto was ac- 
com])lished through the contribution of a 
fund of $10,000 intended to meet the expenses 
incidental to the work for a given jieriod, and 
up(ni the attainment thereof an organization 
was effected by the creation of five com- 
mittees, . namely: The manufacturers, the 
railroads, the jobbers, the conventions and 
the l.ioard of ciuitrol, of which F. C. Denk- 
mann was elected first president, Charles 
McHugh, vice president; T. J. Medill, treas- 
urer; and flayer Levi, secretary. 

Soon after the completion of the organiza- 
tion it became evident that something more 
was necessary if Rock Island would compete 
with other points in an effort to secure the 
location of new industries, and in recognition 
thereof impetus was given to a movement to 
raise a fund of $100,000 to be em]ilo\-ed in 
])roviding sites and buildings and in such 
other ways as would meet the a|)pro\al of 
the board of trustees. The mere suggestion 
was sufi^icient to awaken an interest in the 
])lan outlineil and within less than .tliirty 
days there was .subscribed a total of nearly 
$150,000. known as the Greater Rock Island 
Development l''und. 

Nothing speaks more loudly of the loyalty, 
unselfishness and progressive spirit of the 
people of l{ock Island than the success that 
marked this undertaking. 

This fund has since then been comple- 
mented by a donation from Weyerhaeuser 
and Deidoiiann. Charles H. Deere, and the 



lIlSTURlr HUCK I S L A X D COUNTY 143 

.1. V. Kdliiiison and Mdri'is Hosciificlcl estates. tlie considerat imi. I iiiiiie(liate phuis for ex- 

of fifty acres of land exceptionally well tensions were beiiun, and during- the Fall 

adapted to mannfacturini;- purposes and S5, ()()() was spent npon inipi-oxenients. whicli 

adniii'alilv situated with respect to shippini; have uiven thecluhquartcrs that areccnisidereil 

facilities, lioth l)\' rail anil water. the finest in the State outside of Chicago. 

Cinipled with these roncicte ( Iiti<uis The Cluli liegan with a nienibershi]) of 100. 

there has lieen a spii'it awakened to the I'ein^ a pr(MiiMinced success from the start, 

conscion.sne.ss of the possibilities that lie there was no difficulty iiv securiufj; additions 

liefore Rock Islan<l and a determination to to the enrollment, and at the ])reseiit time 

fii'asp them in furtherance of ihe ambilioii there are 2N7 member's in good standing, 

to become what natni-e ordaineil and which 1'. \\ . Hahnsen was the first [iresident, and 

is ali'ead\' e^■ident in <iui- wonderful growth .lolin T. Stafford wa,s the first secretary, 

as a successful manufact ui-Jiig ceidei-. Mayer Ro.senfield was elected treasm-er wlicn 

the organization was effected, and hehl tlie 

PiOCTv ISLAXl) C'l.l I!. position up to the time lie ceased to be a 

The iilea of forming an association such as resident of the City. At the election in 

the Rock Island Club was first l>roached by January. 1S99. the board of dii'ectors was 

a party of Rock Island gentlemen, wlio met divided into three sections, mie ser\ ing tliree 

on the evening of Xo\('mlier IS. bsoti. at th.e years, another two years, and a third (me 

Harper House. V. W . JJahnsen was chosen year, as follows: Three years, W. H. Mar- 

tem])orary chairman, and Iv .1. P>urns tem- shall, E. H. (luyer. C. .\. Stoddard; two 

porar\- secretary. .\ committee of se\-en was years, A. C. Dart, F. W. Hahnsen. Dr. ti. I>. 

nametl to perfect an organization, and at a Ey.ster, George A. I'l'ice: mie year, Charles 

meeting two days afterward, ihc lalter McHugh, I'hil Miichcll, ,lohn T. Stafford, 

appoiuled a sub-committee of three to dr;iw Mayer I>e^'i. Siiu'c that I ime one sect ion has 

up a constitution and by-laws, ami to take been elected annually f(U' .a term of I hree years, 

out articles of incorporation. .\ charter was The defined ob.jects of the club are. of 

seciu'eil durin.ii' December of the same \-car, course, lar.iiely social. The (piarters are 

and at a meeting held that nmntli the first fitted up with parlors, .-i libr.ar\ . pri\ate 

lioard of directors was clec'tecl. consisting of dining r<ioms. a l)illiard room and bowling 

.\. C. Dart. Charles McHu.iih. F. W. I'>;dinseii. alleys. The rooms are elegantly furnished. 

W. II. Marshall. 1'",. H. Cuyer. .Mayer 1-iosen- and provided with e\crything f<ir the enter- 

licld. William .lackscm. I'hil Mitchell. V.. \\ . tainment of the iiKuubers and fiuests. The}- 

Hurst, Henry Carse and C. .1. Searle. are especially convenient at times when the 

For nearh' two years the club remained City is called upon to do luuior to a \isitoi- 

piaci icalh' dormant. ne,a(it iations being in of distinction. 

progress at that time for suitable cpiai'ters. There are f(Hirteen standing ciuumittees 
Finalb' terms \\ ere arraugeil with .Mrs. Dr. pro\ided for in the l)\-laws. ( )r these nine 
C. I>. Kiin'on for the use of the present are .■ip]iointed on club affairs and entertain- 
fpiarters on Sixteenth Street and Third nient. The others are calculat(Ml to help in 
A\'enue. and October 14. 1N(IS. another Ihe upbnildiui: of the community. The sub- 
meeting was hehl at the llarper Ibmse. at jects they cover are local impi'o\'enients. 
which a three-year lease of the premises was Rock Island .\rs(>nal, Ihe tri-cities. maiiu- 
latilieil. Hefore this time had expii'cd, in fact lU'ers anil railroads. Thriumh t liese latter 
.lul\'. I'.llll. the clubhouse and grounds were bodies man\' important matters h,'i\-e been 
purchased from .Mrs. Kinyon. SI'J.OOO being bi-ought to the atteuticm of the club, and 



144 



// / .S' T R I r ROCK I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



subsequently acted upon, with '^vcaX benefit 
to the cit}-. A ntunher of enterprises that 
were lookinf;; for a suitalile field in which to 
locate have been induced, throufih the efforts 
of the Club to locate in Rock Island, and 
concessions liave been secured from various 
corporations doing business hei-e, upon which 
pri\ate appeals would have had no effect. 

Another acquisition to the City, for which 
the Club deserves almost entire credit, is the 
Illinois Theatre, built on the advance sale seat 
plan, by tleorge H. Johnson of St. JjOuis. at 
a cost of $50, ()()(), and completed in 1901. 
The matter was first taken hold of by the 
Club in 1900. Rock Island now has a play- 
house second to none in the country, and it is 
all the more a sotirce of satisfaction to the peo- 
ple at large because it was secured through local 
enterprise, manifested by a local organization. 

Another important movement the Club 
fathered, and the one that will probably do 
more for the Citj- than any other one thing 
that has ever been undertaken, was that for 
the installation of a small arms ]ilant by the 
(lovernment at Rock Island Arsenal. This 
was one of the very first matters taken holil 
of by the Club as the chamjjion of the City's 
interests. How the suj>port of Illinois and 
Iowa Congressmen and Senators was drawn 
to the iiroject is too well known to need 
relating in detail. These successes point to 
the residts which can be obtaineil by active 
and persistent co-operation, -which the Rock 
Island Club has, upon numerous occasions, 
demonstrated it is capable of ])romoting. 

The Rock Island Club is now in a flourish- 
ing condition. It is established upon a firm 
basis, for it fills a real need, and is conducted 
along correct lines. 

I{0CK ISl.A.XD-DAN'KNPORT FERRY. 

SK\-E\TY-0.\-K VK.\US OF I.NTERCOMMUXIC.VTIOX 
.\.\D TR.\\SPORT.\TIO\ SER\ICK LINK- 
IXt; THIC 'riil-ITTIES. 

The waters of historic old Mississippi, with- 
in smoke-signal of tlie ^\'atch Tower of Hlack 



Hawk, the Sachem, have been jiarted by the 
keels of Illini dug-out, Huron birch canoe, 
batteau of \'oyageur, flat boat of pioneer, 
wiiich-fen-y of the early settler, horse-ferry 
of established villagers, steamer of modern 
date, and motor l)oat of oil and electricity of 
the opening era, and almost without excep- 
tion, the introduction of these modes of 
passing over its waters have been due to 
transversely directed migration rather than 
lateral travel — the desire to cross the river 
rather than float with or stem it. 

At this ]3oint the "Father of Waters" is a 
trifle over three-fourths of a mile wide, and 
while not deep enough to float an ocean 
liner, it is never shallow enough to ford; and 
even the earliest settler found himself natur- 
ally beset with the hankering to keep both 
sides the mightj^ streatn imder foot sover- 
eignty. As a result, the boat. Probably 
at first a canoe or dug-out did duty for such 
as dared the red man's treachery — white 
taught: but the day was soon when the 
advent of the advance guard of the pioneer 
host made its appearance and household 
effects, and women and children called for 
better accommodation — and got il. 

Just when Antoine LeClaire of Dubucjue 
started ferrying his followers across is prob- 
lematical, but May 28, 1837, it is sm-e that 
he deeded to John Wilson, of Rock Island 
County, Illinois, "the right to keep and 
operate a .ferry across the Mississipj^i at a 
point known as 'The Ferry House,' recently 
erected and standing on the west bank of the 
Mississippi in the town of Davenport, extend- 
ing one miles up and one miles down the 
river" together "with the boats and crafts 
now n.sed on said ferry,'' and including the 
' ' privilege of passing over his land for pur- 
pose aforesaid," for the sums of .S.5.00 in 
hand and %^ ,000. 

The phraseology is not of the clearest and 
the "one miles" up and down river is especi- 
ally obsctn-e, l)ut the intent is clear so far as 
the ferry being already in existance as o\\ ned 



// / S T in f HOC K 1 S L A X D (' O U N T Y 



145 



IH'iipcrt y is cimceriiuil. as is als;i the fact 
that the said Aiitoiue J^eClairo^ (iwikmI imic'ii 
huul in the locality. By anotiicr clatise it is 
also made clear that tlie said Antnine Lo- 
Chure was faii'ly modern in his ideas and 
wonld have done credit to this day and aRe, 
nameh-: "Subject to the said I.eClaire 
crossing in ferrj' free of cliarijc." 

That the ferry in those days was not a liift 
enterprise is shown by the schi'dulo of prices 
affixed to this document, now yellow with 
age. held in the vaults of the Kock Island 
National liank by the pi-csciit secretary- 
treasurer, which schedule .shows ;is follows: 

FioRKV R.NTES, 1,S37 — Footmen, -.'> cents: 
man and horse, 75 cents: loose cattle and 
horses, 25 cents per head: yoke oxen, 50 
cents: loaded wagon and two horses, .?1.5(); 
loaded wagon and yoke oxen, SI. 50; loaded 
wagon with horse or ox, 25 cents: two-wheel 
carriage with horse or ox, $1,50; hogs and 
sheep, 12 to cents per head. 

Just when John Wilson and wife came into 
the matter is uncertain, but in 1S53 and 1S54 
John A\'. Spencer. James (Irant and Tliomas 
J. Robinson acquired the ^^ ilson interestii in 
this ferry, and Januai'y 2S, 1,S57, the first 
aclual charter for the fei-ry was issued to 
Sjjencer. Grant and Robinson, It ga\e wide 
latitude to the landing place, allowing for 
the growth of Rock Island ami Davenpoj-t 
u]) or down the river, but stipulal("d the 
keeping of a Rock Island landing bclw(>en 
liuffalo and .Madison Streets, the keeping u]i 
a suitalile equipment, etc. 

April 7, 1S8S, the original license to operate 
this ferry was issued by the United States 
Treasury' Department, and April 2G, ISSS, a, 
charter was issued to the incorporated l)ody 
— The Rock Island-l")a\'enport Fei'ry Com- 
pany, with a capital stock of .fGO,0()l). 

from that time practically no change of 
stockholders in the corporation nor in its 
management occurred until the death of 
Thonuis .1. Robinson, which occnri'ed in 
April of ISO!), when his stock was licired bv 



his s:in. ,1. frank iiobins m, and with it went 
the management. I'pon tlie death of J. 
Frank Robinson in May of 1002. it was 
learned that he bcMpieathed the Rol>inson 
stock to liis cousin. Captain ^larcus L. 
Henderson, who had been in charge of the 
ferry as general manager since 1896. 

Captain Henderson is the i)resident and 
manager, with H. E. Castecl secretary and 
treasurer. 

In 1S91 the "Augusta" was ])ut in service. 
In 1002 she was rebuilt, re-christened the 
"T. J, Roljinson," electric lighted and re- 
furnished. In 1004, entirely without public 
demand, the " I)aven))ort " was built at Rock 
Island by Kahike Brothers, and ]Hit in com- 
mission, S'le is also of modern design. 

TRI-CITV PRFSS CLUB. 

The Tri-City Press Club is an organization 
reiiresenting some sixty odd working news- 
paper men of the Cities of Rock Island, M dine 
and Davenport. The condition of active 
membership is identical with the editorial or 
business departments of the papers and other 
reputable journals of the tlu-ee cities. Two 
other classes of membership are honorary 
and non-resident. The Club was organized 
at a banquet tendered representatives of the 
]iress of the three cities at Bla(d< Hawk Inn 
l)y Charles McIIugh and ,1. F. Lardner. in 
September, INOS. The Club at its first 
meeting elected Mr, McHugh and Mr. Lardner 
himorary members, and since that time has 
added the names of H. E. Downer, of Daven- 
])ort; J. T. McCutcheon, (ieorge Ade, H. B. 
Chand)erlain, R, K. Liltle, \V. ,1. Bryan, 
('aptain W. T. Thompson, Rablji W. H. 
Fineschriber. Henry W'atterson, James Whit- 
cond) Riley and Sir Robert Ball to that list. 

The following have ser\'ed as jiresidents; 
1898, Walter John,son, Rock Island; 1899. 
J, E, Calkins, Davenport, 1000: P. S. Mc- 
Clynn. Moline; 1001, II. P. Simpson, Rock 
Island: 1002, L. P, McClarrien, Davenport; 
lOO:^. J. II. McKeever, Moline: 1004. Robert 



146 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Rexdale. Rock Ishuid: litOo. B. F. Tillinghast, 
Davenport; 1906, John Sundiue. Moline; 
1907, Val. J. Peter. Rock Island. 

The Club meets alternately in Moline, Rock 
Island and Davenport, each business meeting 
being supplemented by an entertaining and 
instructive program and dinner. Each year 
the Club becomes sjionsor for a high class, 
intellectual public entertainment. The Club 
is affilliated with the National Association of 
Press Clubs. 

THE INDUSTRIAL HOME. 

The Rock Island Industrial Home Associa- 
tion was formed at a mass-meeting of the 
members of the labor unions of the City, 
headed by the Knights of Labor, held in 
December, 1887. 

The branches of organized labor repre- 
sented in the association, in the beginning, 
included Knights of Lalior. [irinters, glass- 
blowers, tailors, iron molders, cigar makers, 
carpenters, switchmen and locomotive firemen. 

The first efforts of the association were 
turned toward the raising of a fund with 
which to purchase a lot and erect a home for 
lalior. To do this an annual fair was insti- 
tuted. The first one was held in February. 
1889, and $2,200 cleared, In the Fall a 
picnic netted another substantial sum. The 
l.alifir Day picnics now take the ]ilaee of the 
original affairs; being lield alternately in the 
three cities. Rock Island, Moline and Daven- 
port, under the auspices of the three Indus- 
trial Home Associations, The first meetings 
were held at Norris Hall: Hillier's Hall being 
later used as headquarters for a ]ieriod of five 
years before the home was opened in 1896. 
The first projierly the association ])urchased 
was a lot at the corner of Foin'th Avenue and 
'I'wcuticth Street. This was sold when the 
present site for the home was ])urchased, at 
the corner of Third Avenue and Twenty- 
first Street. 

The erection of the home was accomplished 
in 1894. and was taken possession of in 1896 



— it being a handsome three-stoi-y brick build- 
ing, with two large stores <ui the ground 
floor, offices and halls for meeting places for 
the labor organizations on the second floor, 
and a large hall on the tliird floor. Its cost 
was $28,000. The financial affairs of the 
association are in the hands of T. H. Thomas, 
who has acted as agent, with power of attor- 
ney, since the building was erected. The 
present indebtedness is $7,000, with $3,000 
more needed to comjilete the building in 
accordance with the original jilans. These 
include the installing of a library, gymnasium, 
bath rooms and everything in fact to make 
it a complete home, or club house, for tlie 
use of laboring men. 

THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSO- 
CIATION. 

Nearly thirty years ago the first Associa- 
tion was formed in Rock Island, with the 
same general objects as the present institut 
tion. It was engendered by a great religious 
revival, and E. W. Spencer, one of the origi- 
nators of the idea, was elected the first presi- 
dent. Rooms were opened in the postoflice 
block, and Sunday afternoons religiinis meet- 
ings for young men were held. At the end 
of two years ^Ir. Sjiencer was called to other 
fields, necessitating his resignation, and the 
work was allowed to la])se. 

The present Y. M. C. A. iiad its origin in 
1884, A. M. Brnner, R. W. Salisbury and 
John Perriti being the |)rime movers. A|)ri] 
20, of that \ear, the Association was born at 
a meeting held at the Central Presbyterian 
Church, and thirty-eight members were signed 
to the rolls. Frank Nadler was chosen presi- 
dent, and (Icorgc P. Lyman secretary. June 
.'■} the formal opening of rooms over 1 720 
Second Avenue was held. The following 
February a general secretary w.-is called in 
the person of George Warner, of Minneapolis. 
At the end of the first year there wore sixty- 
five members. 



// I ST R I C ROC K I S L A A' /; CO U N T Y 147 



The Ladies' Ct'iitral ('(iiiiuiittfe was foniicil A library was started with a huidv |-eeei.i- 

as an auxiliary, in Seiitemlier. ISS.'i, and in tinn. Later llie l"ranklin Ilnst- ('(iiniian\- 

Decenilier of tlie same year the Associaf ion dnnated its splendid eiillection oF hiHdxS and 

was inetii'iKirated. In March. LSSti. new a Imuk case. 

(juarters were taken m'ei- the Teuples National Ivlncational i-lasses wei'e started. 

Hank. F. W. Lang of Menominee, Wisconsin. The hulies were first oi'.iianized as a central 

assumed the duties of general secreatary in cimiinittee. then as the ladies auxiliary- 

August, 1SS6. In the L'all of that yeai- ten They ai-e now the association helpers. They 

delegates were sent to the State ccni\'ention I'aised hundreds of ihdlai's for the liig <lel;it, 

al H(i(d-;f(:ird. and fni-nishe(| a lai'ge pari of the linildin.g: 

The building UKjvement \\as liegnn in through t heir inlliience I he Ladies of the First 

January, LS.S", at a gospel ser\"ice held al M. \\. ('hurch furnished the I'e.ading I'oom: 

Kevnolds, Illinois, bv a few \'onu.u men. the coi'respoiiih'uce i-o(Un (now ollice of the 

where two little girls. .\nna Stewai't and boys secretary) w.as fmaiished by the Ladies 

Libbie S(dio(nimaker, who were interested in Aid Society of South Heights: the ilirectors 

pictures shown of ^ . M. C A. buildings. ea(di rocuu by the King's Daughters ami tlu^ chapel 

gave fiftv cents without solicitaticju "to jiut by the Women's Christian Teniper.ance 

up a building at Riud'; Island for young men;" I nion. 

later a like amount was gi\en by Louie /)ow- In No\(unber. Ls'.i."). through the generosity 

nnm, luie of om' boys. This dollar and a half of the late .1. \\ . i'ottei'. |iroprietor of the 

was the nucleus of the fund whicli ga\'c ns Anjiis. the anxiliaiy p\iblisheil a sixteen-pa.ge 

our $50,000 pi'operty and interested over Thanksgiving edition of the .l/(///.v. which 

seven hnndi'ed contributors. .\t a meeting was a decided success. 

of the mend>ei's ;i few months later $1,000 The new buililing was (-(unpleteil sullici- 

was pledged and a building ccuumittee eutlytoadmit of its occupal ion .\ pril 'J, IS'.tl. 

a]>])ointed. but an uher caii\ass for money had to be 

The jin'sent site was bought fi'oni the nudei'taken to pi'o\ide for the fm-iushing and 

Henders(ni estate for $4.11110. the heirs throw- completing of certain parts to place them in 

ing off $1,000 as a coni I'ibution t(] the cause. a coiiditi'Hi lo irse. Septembei' 1. IS'.ll. (1. ('. 

I'he conll'act for the foundati(m of the l'>lake-lee became genei'.-d -.eci-etar\' in place 

building was let at a meeting of inleresteil of Mi-. Lang. 

business men at the residence of P. L. Mitchell_ .\t the eighth annual meeting of the Asso- 

held Se])teud)er '-'4, LSSS. l.arkiu .and Si epheus ciatimi. .\pril I'll. I S'.l'i. pidmiuenl s])(>akers 

being the successful liiddeis. from all oxci' the middle west were secured 

The ("irnerstone was Laid .June 'Jli. IStiO, and $0,400 was raised, and in a month more 

Mavor McConochie ]iutting it in place. coudition.-d pledges were secureil that raised 

assisted b\' Ihe three voung pei'sons who were the general fund to $1,S,00I1. The Ladies' 

the first contributor.s. One of the notable Ceulral ( 'oiuniittee offered $500 (ui c(nidition 

features of the exercises was the reading of a that the amomit specified be i-aised by 

letter frcuu Sir (!e(n'ge ^\'illiams of London. Septendiei' 1. .August I'll the sum of $7o'_' 

England, the fmmder of tlie Y. M. ('. .\. \\as still needed, ami by .a great effort it was 

At the opening of the year 1000. abont secui'ed during the two days following. 

$15.01111 hail been subscribed, and March L'.S |-!uilding o])erations upmi the interior were 

of that year the contract for the supei'struc- I'esnnu'il. and as the funds became a\ailal)le, 

ture was let to Collins Brothers foi- completed, ami .laimary 1, 1S94, Ihe contrac- 

$15,18!). tors t uiaied the building o^•er to the .\ssociatiim 



14,s 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COU N T Y 



practically as it stands today, with the 
.•i-ymnasiuiii, hath and drossinp: rooms, and 
the anditoriiini rcatly for use. In a short 
time the membersliii) was raised from one 
hundred to three hundred. The annual dues 
for senior members was placed at five dollars. 
W. I.. Lavender was chosen the first physical 
director Decend)er 1. 1895. The next year 
J. P. Hailey succeeded Mr. Blakeslee as 
general secretary, and after two yeai's' service, 
the former gave way to J. 8. Freeman. At 
the same time as the latter change was made, 
H. (1. Hanks took the position of physical 
director. ,1. t'. Pentland first' took charge of 
the work in 1899.. 

The total memliership is now three hundred. 
In the Winter sea.son just closing about 7,000 
individuals have taken exercise in the gym- 
nasium. About forty men are enrolled in the 
bible classes, and every branch of the work 
is in the most floin-ishing condition that has 
prevailed since the forming of the Asso- 
ciation. 

A number of members have entered into 
life service for the ^Master, among whom we 
remember Charles Knox, J. Akers and Ed- 
ward '^'oung, in the ministry; (ieorge "Warner, 
(iraham Lee and R. ('. Ricker, missionaries 
in foreign lands; A. M. Bruner, Henry Hansen 
Louis A. Bownuni. Orville Yerlnu-y, J. S. 
I'"reeman, Henry ^'oss and Chauncey Tuttle 
in \Va^ Association secretarvsliip. 

The fir^t board of directors were: Frank 
Xadler, jirosident: \. M. Bruner, first vice- 
president: F. H. Kaupk(\ second vice-presi- 
dent :(L I', l.yman, rccoi'ding secretary ; J. D. 
Warnock, tii-a.^m-ei- : J. W. ^^'el(■h, Charles 
.Jensen, F. J. .Vkcrs. C. l'>. .\dams, J. W. 
Stewart, Iv B. .McKowii. \\'. F. Cilmore- 
(loorge ("hambiMs. 

The original iniilding coiniiut tec coni])rised: 
.\. M. Blaksl(!y, chairman; Iv B. McKown, 
treasm'er: J. F. Robinson, .1. W. Stewart, J. 
W. Welch, C. F. .Adams. A. I). Sperry, Frank 
Xadler. (Ieorge M. Looseley. .\. M. Unmor. 
I', IL Kaupke. 



BUFORl) BLOCK. 

The old liuford Block at the northeast 
corner of Second Avenue and West Seven- 
teenth Street, which has just been torn down 
to be replaced by a new reinforced concrete 
six-story modern business block,. was erected 
in 1854. Sixty feet of this corner was piu-- 
chased by Charles Buford from Charles K. 
Smith February 23. 1854: a little later he 
purchased the adjoining thirty feet east from 
Judge George W. Pleasants and Doctor John 
W. Bulkley. The old buildings on this corner 
were sold at auction March 11, 1854. ^hijor 
Benjamin F. Barrett being the auctioneer. 
The excavation for the foundation immedi- 
ately commenced. AVednesday July 19, 1S54, 
the 1irick laying commenced by W. H. Sage, 
commonly known as ' ' Doc " Sage. The 
exterior was finished that Fall, and the 
Iniilding completed early in lS5o. 

Bailey and Boyle also commenced work 
on their three-story lirick block, covering the 
groimd lietween East and West Seventeenth 
Streets, and Illinois Street and the Alley 
north, and Ainsworth and L\-nde a large 
brick wi'rehouse on Front Street opposite the 
])resent site of Hotel Harms. 

Before Winter two more brick buildings 
were under construction. 

CITY OF .MOLIXI':. 

I.(l\\ KI.I. OF THK WIOST 

A])]jropriatc. indeed, is the above rpioted 
a[jpellation to the City of Moline, for now hei-e 
between Chicago, east, and San Francisco, 
west, nor between St. Paul, north, and St. 
Louis, south, is there a cit>- which can so 
fittinglv disport the magnitude of her indus- 
tries and hei' products, or demonstrate a 
more i-ai)id growth. Why .Molinc has been 
enabled to win so many nninufactuiing 
establishments in the industrial field is merely 
■.\ nuitter of sii]iposition- either because of 
tlic utility of tlie water power, oi- that fhe 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 149 



thrifty hands and fertile hraiiis wliicli estali- gines, hea\'y ilnip ami i'drgiiit; niachinery, 

lished them considered her future nmi'e prom- wagons, carriages, steam engines, wood- 

ising during their days of e.arly struggle. \\iirking machinery, flour mill nuichinery, 

.Mdliue is an industrial cil), |)uic and simple. pum|)S, organs, malleable ii'on r.-islings, steel 

Her shops are numhei'cd .Mnumg the largest billets, fm'niture, scales, haiiiess fixtures, 

of their kind extant. The Mdline \\'a<;(in wheels, and a scui'e iif nthei- mni'h used and 

Ciimpany being admittedlx' the largest wagmi natinnall\' kn.iwu ai'ticles. 

shiip in the \\(irld. while I )eerr .'iiid ('iilnpan\' The same lailrnads which enter !!d''l< l,s- 

an(.l the iMoline Plow ('(unpaii\' cmisuine mure land- tJie Ruck Islaud H.iule. the ('hicago. 

raw steel than any othei' plnw shop in exist- Hiirlington and (,)uinc\-, the Chicago, Mil- 

ence. wankee and St. I'.aul, tlie ]»a\-euport, Rock 

.\ potent factor in the ^i-nwth of Moline Island and .Xnrthwcstei'ii -alsn peiieli'ate 

und(iubtcd|\- liin^c-^ upcm the eiiiirmit\' and Muline. and ha\e .arcciminddated (he nianu- 

utility Iif the water jxiwer which her manu- factiirers with spur,-- of tracks foi- switching 

tacturers. with the assistance (if the Ciovern- and side tracks th.-il repi-esent an enoi-mons 

meiit, ha\e brought to such a high state of sa\'ing in handling cars. 

availability and within easy reach. ,Inst Her lodges and liuildings, public and 

recently the (hn'ernment has expended an ])rivate, her libraiy. hospitals, chui-ch edifices 

immense sum in luirnessiug that portion of and schools easily com|)ai-r with -awv cit\- in 

the Mississippi which flo>\s by iMoline so that the middle \vest. 

the .\rsenal, as well as pri\ate enterprises. In Moline pnipei' nearl\- .S^JD.tK 10.01 )ll ai'e 

might profit by securing motix'e [lower at. a invested, and the a\erage amiual output is 

more nominal figure than il has heretofore given at .S12,")00.000. The town has lifty- 

l.)een possible to do. six miles of well kept streets, thirty-two 

Second Avenue, iu .Moline, reminds a, miles of si<lewalks. twenty miles of sewers, 

stranger more of the manufacturing sections twenty-fi\-e nules of water maiirs, fifteen nules 

of I'ittsbnrg or Milwaukee than the industries of pa\ed streets, and her popula(i(ui is nearly 

of a town her size; but when the impressive !''_'. 000, and of that rugged, thrift \' class which 

dimensions of the .\hiline Plow (.'om|)any, characterize so many of (uu- manufacturing 

Dei're and ('(unpany. The Moline A\'agon disti'icts. 
(.'luupany, 1 )eere and Maiisui' t"(unpaii\-. The 

Steel Mills, \>lie Carriage C< unpany, The i-;vi^;nts of faki.y n.ws. 

Moline Furnitm'e ^^'orks. Williams and White The oi-ifiinal propi-ietors of (he water 

Company. The Organ Works. Harnacd and power, in 1.S41-12. 1,'iid cmt some lots on the 

Leas, The Moline Pump Company, Coopei- soutli side of .Main Street, now Second 

Saddlers Harness Company. The .Moline .\ venue, oi)posite the gromids now occupied 

Incandescent bight. Company, and the scor(>s by the Plow ^\'orks. and formerh- occMipied in 

of other lesser estal)lishments, are conlem- part by the <ild grist mill, which was built in 

])lated. this fact does lait appear so strange. 1 S4 1 by ])a\id P). Sears, .bihu W. Sieiu'cr 

(her 7,000 tuen are (unployed in .Moline in and Spencer H. White, as was also tlii' dam, 

her numerous shops, while ti.ast Moline and and mimed the place "Rock Poland .Mills.'' 

Sihis employ half that many more. .\t The plat, however, was never recoi-de 1. In 

Sihis are located the i-fock Island ,-liops. the I S4;! Ciiarles .\t kinson. D. H. Se.ars an I others 

largest cai- shops in the world. piU'chased of Huutingtiui Wells a poilion of 

The output of .Moline I'oiisists of e\-ery his farm lying east of the Rock Island .Mills 

character of farm implements, gasoline eii- proiierty, and they, tof;cther with (he owners 



150 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



of the latter, laid out the town of ]\Ioline, the 
same year. There were then l)ut thii-teen 
dwellings on the ground platted, and these 
were owned by Huntington AVelLs, I). B. 
Sears, Charles Atkinson, Benedict Patterson, 
Haskins Reynolds. J'Jell. Huntoon, Berham, 
Weis, \Miite and Kinzie. SidDsequently 
Charles Atkinson laid out hi.s first addition, 
which was followed by his second adcljtion in 
1856; since which various additions have 
been made from time to time, till the place 
has reached its ]ireseut wide corporate dimen- 
sions. It extends on the east to the city 
limits of Rock Island, and west from that 
point about one and three quarter miles, and 
i.s about two miles in width north and south, 
with plenty of room to grow in either direction. 

Moline was quite early incorporated as a 
tow-n, but the records having peri-shed in a 
fire, we liave no authentic information respect- 
ing the first municipal organization and 
officer.s. It was, however, incorijorated as a 
city under the (ieneral Law of the State 
approved .\i)ril 10, 1S72. On the third of 
that month a petition was presented to the 
board of trustees of the tottii of Moline asking 
the cjuestion of the adoi^tion of a city govern- 
ment, to be submitted to tlic qualified voters 
of the town for their decision. The petition 
was granted, and in piii'suance thereof an 
election was held on Tuesday, Aiigust 6, 
1872, resulting as follows: 

For city organization, 2G1 votes; against 
city organization, 22 votes; for minority 
representation in the city council, 21 votes; 
against minoi-ity representation in the city 
council, 247 votes. 

On Tuesday, August 20, 1,S72, the election 
for city officers was held, and the following 
named i)ersons were elected,: Mayor, Daniel 
L. \Mieelock; city clerk, Orrin K. Ferguson; 
city attorney, .loim 'W Hrowiiing; aldermen, 
Cieorge \V. ^■inton. l.uke !•;. llemenway, Jer- 
niaii S. K'cator, Mar\il II. White, Henry 
Klahii. Chaiies W. l.ohdcU. Swan Hanson, 
Daniel W . Diniock. Charles F. Hemenwa\-. 



These represent the first set of city officers 
elected in Moline, following the conversion 
of the town into a city. 

In 1843 David Sears opened the first store 
in the house in which he lived, which was in 
close proximity to the grist mill. The first 
hotel dates from 1843, and was conducted by 
Huntington Wells. In 1842 Jo.seph Huntoon 
opened a shoe shop, and two years later 
(irove W. Bell was the town tailor. In 1843 
Aynes Kinzie started a blacksmith shop on 
the ground since occupied by Deere and 
Company, and in 1S47 the nucleus of the 
world famed shops of Deere and Company 
was laid. The first school house was 
built by jirivate subscription in 1S43, 
and of brick, where religious meetings 
were also held. .Jose])h .Jackman was the 
first teacher, followed by S. P. Hodges, 
who was afterward.s county clerk. The first 
bank was the First National Bank, organizo<l 
in 1863. 

MOLINE POSTOFFICE. 

The Moline postoffice was estal^lislied in 
1844, with David B. Sears as the first jxist- 
master. The office was located in the ' ' Brick 
Store " (a building owned by Mr. Sears, 
between Fifteenth and Sixteenth Streets <hi 
Second Avenue.) 

Following him Dr. Wells had the office in 
a little room about twelve l)y sixteen feet on 
the alley corner of Seventeenth Street betw^een 
First and Second Avenues. George W. Bell 
succeeded Wells and moved tlie ofhce south 
to the corner where he had a tailor shop, 
.loseph .1. .lackninii was the next postmaster, 
and he again moved tlie office g<Mng east 
about half a hlnck on Second .\\-enue. In 
1856 Absoloin I'). Williams w;is appointed 
postmaster and he was siu'cee leil in .I:dy. 
1857, by Judge ,lohn M. (Jotihi. who ni.ix'e.l 
the office west on Second A\-enne t ) I he lot 
adjoining the |)i-esent postoffice building and 
in the rc-.w of the present site of the Pe )ple< 
Ti'usI and Saxings Uaidv. .ludge Gould had 



// I ST U Rl a R a K I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



lol 



a liank here and the postothce was phxced in 
the rear of the hank room. .Iiulife Gonhl 
was sncceeded A]iril 17, IStil, by William 
Kerns, \\\\n ser^•ed until June. ISGo, wlien 
(-ieurge I), (iould. a hrotiier of .lud^e (undd, 
took the office and held it until August 1 1 , 
isiill. when ^Ir. Kerns aj^ain tonk it. He wa,s 
succeeded by Henry K. Wells, who f!;ave place 
April 1, 1S77, to T^uke K. Henienway. Dan 
W. (luulil tiiok possession l'\'hi-\iar\- 1, ISSti, 
being the third of the (lindd brothers tn Imld 
that place. John M. Ibill succeeded liini 
Api-il I, I Slid, to be i'dUdwcd .lul\- 1, IS'.I4, by 
M. .1. MclMiiry, who helil the nllicc until 
()iM(ilicr 1, 1897, when he gave way to (leorge 
11. McKinley, who was followed March 1, 
]!)()(j, liy W. F. Eastnum, the pi-esent post- 
master. 

The otHce remained in the ftanking room of 
Judge Gould until Octobei", IS73. when it 
was removec.l to the old library building on 
the corner of Fifteentli and l.ibi-ai'y Streets, 
where it remained until July, 1SS5, when it 
was temporarily placed in the liuilding on the 
south side of Third Avenue (two dooi-s from 
Seventeenth- Street) until December, ISS.'i, 
when it was inoveil to the present site on 
Third A\-enne and Sixteenth Street. A site 
has been purchased f(ir a new building at the 
corner of Thirtl Avenue and Eighteenth 
Streets, and there is an appnipriaticin <if 
$96, ()()() for the construction of a new liuild- 
ing, which it is expected will be occupied in 
1909. 

The first available report of the receipts of 
the postoffice is one pulilishecl by .Mr. Henien- 
way of the receipts in the calendar xcar of 
1S79. This shows the total receipts (jf the 
• illicc lo be .11 5, .346. ."iO. There weiv :!,l,-).s 
money orders i.ssued for $8(1,667.12, and 
2,355 i)aid for $36,014.3;?. There were (i4() 
registered letters sent and 1,269 rercixcd. 
The total number of piecirs <if mail dispalclied 
was S61,3S9. Husiness hail not come to 
that piiint that the ollice was opened 
Sunda\'. 



The re])orts of the auditiu' of the postoffice 
department show a rapid growth. In 1S91 
the number of stam])s sold amounted to 
$24,433, 2S. and this was increased the next 
year more than $5,(K)(). Then followed five 
years of depressi(m, and it was not until the 
year ending .lune 30, IS97, thai there was an 
increase; the figures then being $31,4()5.16. 
Since then there has been a stea.dy increase, 
averaging something mor-e than eleven per 
cent annually. On account of the financial 
depression the receit)ts for the last year were 
but little moi'c than in the pi'e\io\is one, 
hax'ing l)een $79,306.19. .\n increase to 
$90,000 is confidently expected the on-rent 
fiscal year. 

.\t the same time the ii umber of (jieces of 
mail <lis])atched lias so increased that in one 
week of 1907 when lliiw were counted there 
were 148,192 pieces, which would be at the 
rate of nearly as nniny in six weeks as were 
dispatched in the entire year of 1S79. 

The total number of money orders sold in 
the last year — 1907 was 27,341, of a value 
of $258,755.43 and there were 10.789 ]iaid, 
with a value of $95,667,32, The total nnnd.)er 
of registers sent and received was 15,463. 

This is the roster of the office August 24, 
1908: Postmaster, W. 1''. Ivistman; assistant 
postmaster, John .\. Oodelin; clerks, in order 
of a]"ipoiiitmcnt , .\. ('. Dornuui, John Mc- 
Eniry, C. V. (iould, V. L. Rogerson, H. E. 
Olson, N, E. .\nderson. W. E. Olson, Orlando 
Metz, A. E. Hallipiist, ('. W. Heimbeck, P. E. 
Colson, Eilla, M. Eulsinger, with D.W.Wariiock, 
Ethel E. McCaiion ami Elmer Heck as sub- 
stitutes; carriers, in order of a|ipointinent,'\V. 
G. Baker, F. C. Viereich. J. M. Hartzell, F. N. 
Pierce, G. E. Carlson, .1. W. Dewrose, V. F. 
Grantz, Neander .lohnson, (). .1. W'ils m, F. 
IE Wilson. ('. W. Becker, X. (). Anderson, 
.lohn W ind, X. \\. l.undeei*. X. E. J5urlingame, 
\'ictor Vonngberg, with V. (.). Hanson. .1. H. 
Pecker. Frank Spriet and Paid ^'ouiii; as 
substitutes, and Thomas Stewart as rural 
carrier. 



152 



// / .s TO HI C ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



There are six stations with W. H. Christi- 
soii, Charles Bninstrom. C. V. Coyne, M. W. 
Battles, Jr.. .John I-, .lennisch and Auoiist 
Sniuline in charge. 

Henry Robinson is janitor and sijecial 
delivery messenger. 

The first carriers went on duty July 1, 
1887, Messrs. Baker and Hanson being two 
of the original four. Mr. Baker has been on 
duty continuoush- since, but Mr. Hanson 
resigned near the end of his twentieth year to 
go into business. 

MOLINE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

According to the recollections of the "oldest 
inhabitant " the first fire department of 
Moline was organized in 1852. A hand 
engine, the "Metamora," together with a 
hose cart, and about two thousand feet of 
hose, constituted the entire fire appartaus of 
the city. Charles H. Deere was fireman of 
the hose company, and Doctor Sweetland 
foreman of the "Metamora." L. B. Mapes, 
M. A. Could, William Watt, H. E. Mapes. 
J. A. Holt and Frank Kerns were among the 
members. The "Metamora" was a mam- 
moth concern, and a regular man-killer; but 
the boys claim that with twenty men on a 
side they could 

"Throw water higher 
And ]:)ump a well dryer" 
than can be done with any modern inventi(ui. 

There were banquets, balls and tourna- 
ments in those days, and it is said that a 
finer appearing company than the "Molines" 
coiUd not be found, and when on dress parade, 
won not only the admiration of the men, but 
captured the fair se.x as well. 

1,. B. Mapes and William Watt were two 
likely young bloods, and when in harness 
were known as the "team of sorrels." With 
meager and cumbersome ap)iartaus, this 
company rendered e.xcellent service under 
extreme difiicullties; and their deeds of 
tlaring are seldom ('(pudle 1 in the fires of 
today. 



Among the principal fires fought by the 
first firemen were those of the Howe, Childs 
and Mapes' mills, in 1855; 8ears' mills, 
Shaw's dry goods store, Dunn's hardware 
store; fires that tried the courage and nerve 
of the firemen. From 1865 down to the 
organization of the present department there 
are many missing links. The old ' ' Meta- 
mora " was kept until 1872, and then sold to 
;\Iilan, a steam fire engine being purchased 
and named the "Mississippi," which is still 
on hand, but not in service. 

Then was organized one of the m:ist 
remarkable organizations in the history of 
the pioneer service: the A. 0. T. (always on 
time) company. This company rendered 
strenuous and valuable service at the large 
and disastrous fire of the J. S. Keator saw 
mills, a loss of the entire plant with over ten 
million feet of lumber, making a total loss of 
$300,000. Fire help was called for. Rock 
Island responding with Rescue Steam Fire 
Engine No. 2, and Phoenix and Wide-Awake 
hose companies, and the Sash Factory hose 
company. Davenport sent over the Fire 
King Steamer and Fire King ho.^e company. 
Colonel Flagler sent "Uncle Sam" over from 
the Arsenal, Geneseo coming down with their 
engine and fire company. The Deere hose 
throwing first water, closely followed by the 
A. 0. T. company and the ]\Iinnehahas. 
The old "Mississippi" did magnificent work. 
.\11 the firemen were deserving of unusual and 
vmstinted praise, and all etpially deserving 
of worthy mention for their heroic work on 
that memorable night. The ladders of the 
first hook and ladder truck were constructed 
of two by fours, and very crude. 

The old Volunteer chiefs were: Isaac 
Anderson, Phil Williams. C. O. Nason, Morey^ 
Flickinger, and Levi S. Cralle. 

A new organization was effected in June, 
1884: B. B. Peregoy, chief; foil iw(> 1 by 
,1. M. Hartzell, Albert Aiding. A. Williams, 
Xels I'ete.s.in. James J. Trev.)r, H. C. 
Reese, for 1S1)4, l.'«i95. ISOIi. The department 



// / S T O Rl C no C K 1 ^' L A N D CO U N T Y 



loo 



at this time roiisisfeil n[ one hun- 
dred men. and was sn1»li\iih'il into fnur 
hose companies and one hooi< and hid(k'r 
I nick cnnipany. and one steam lire en,<i,inc. 
The h.ose companies were the Tnion Xo. I, 
Onward No. 2, Minnehalia No. '.'•,, and Deane 
No. 4. In 1S93 the Union hos(> company No. 
1 disbanded and a new company formed 
caUed the t'ohimhia No. 1. Tliere were als.) 
I'oni' indeiiendent hose companies, represent- 
ing the following manufactories: Deere and 
Ciunpany, Moline Plow Company, I?arnard 
and Leas Manufactiu'in.t? (.'om])any. and Deere 
and Mansur Company; each company beinp; 
thoroughly eqiu])ped with all modern ai^pli- 
ances. 

The present paid department was organized 
October 1, 1S96. the chief being H. ('. Reese, 
the olil \-olunteer chief, and J. C^. Hawk, 
assistant chief. Shortly afterward ,Iohn (2. 
Hawk was ap])ointed chief, and through his 
efficiency has held the position to the present 
time; the assistant chief now being F. Oscar 
Yoniigron. 

The department stati(nis are: 

Central Fire Station No. 1, olO-')]-! lM)\n'- 
teenth Street. 

Hose Company No. 2, 1317 {''ourteentli 
Avenue; captain, Thomas Wehdi. 

Hose Company No. 3, caiitain, James J. 
Trevor. 

Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, being 
housed at Central Fire Hall. 

The full force of the department is twenty 
men. The apparatus consists of: Three 
two-horse wa,gons in service, one two-horse 
wagon in reser\'e, one liook and ladder trucd-c, 
one (diief's buggy. 

The department has one of the finest fire 
alarm systems, lieing the (lamewcll l''ire 
Alarm System. To W. 1'. Channing of 
I-!oston. and M. 0. I'^armer of Sahnu. Massa- 
chusetts, is due the credit for the lii'st suc- 
cessful employment of el<'cti'icity foi- giving 
instantaneous, universal and indefinili> alarms 
in case of fires. In 1 S.")."> (lamewcll and 



Company Ijecame the owners of all patents 
of Channing and Farmer. The fire-alarm 
tele,E;ra])h svstem of Moline consists of a 
central oi- battery station, located at the 
water works; the wire circuit, which comiects 
the central station with the street signal 
boxes and the alarm appai'at us, consisting of 
combined electro-mechanical gong-strikers 
and indicators, located in the hose houses, 
and residence of the chief of the (ire depart- 
ment; the indicators sliowing in plain figures 
the number of the signal-b;ix from wdiich the 
alarm originates. .\ repeater is phu'ed in 
the central tel(>ph(me oflice. and each tele- 
phone has a "tire nund>ei'" c.irres|ionding 
witli that of the street sii;nal-biix. 

MOLINE WATFR WORKS I )i:i'.\ LTMKXT 

The City of Moline lias an nnu-ually g i id 
water works system (the sujiply cimini', from 
the Mississijipi River), consisting of .a pu:np- 
ing station and hltering plant, and tliirty-li\'e 
miles of street water mains, with three luunl- 
red and twenty-five city fire hydrants, fifty 
private hydrants, ami (wo hundreil and 
forty-five valves. The number of gallons of 
water filtererl during the year ending \])v'\\ 
1, 190S, amounted to !)SS.419,23() galhms. (u- 
2,700,598 gallons per day. The total inunber 
of gallons of water pumped to the City of 
Moline for the said yeai- was 949.71 1.37N 
gallons, being a daily consumption of 2,594,- 
.S39 gallons, being a dailx' inci-ease over the 
previous year of 151,792 gallons. They have 
3,250 service ta]is, making an a\-erage of S31 
.gallons of water ]ier day to each tap, or a 
])er capita consumpt ion of one humli-ed galkuis 
for the entire City of Mcdine. Tlie consump- 
tion of fuel for the" past year was 7.114.(10(1 
pounds of coal, being 19,437 pounds for <mcIi 
day. Hy computation, filtering 1.901 gall >ns 
of water for each pouruUof coal c insunie 1. 
Cost of coal for past year S5.S3S.59, or 9A:-.\)', 
tor each twent\-four hou:'s. Coagulate^ u.;' I 
thejiast year in tlie lilteriii'j; pl.i:it. 412.sr<l 
pounds of lime, beinj;' 3.1.'! grains foi- each 



154 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



gallon; 106,780 pounds of iron, or .81 grains 
per gallon: 19,87") pounds of alum, or 2.146 
grains per gallon. 923,326,790 gallons of 
water were filtered with lime and iron at a 
cost of $1.17 per million gallons of water; 
the cost of iron being seventy-five cents per 
million gallons. Water filtered by alum at 
a cost of $3.05 per million gallons. Cost of 
filtering water for the past year has been 
$5,881.20, or $5.95 per million gallons. The 
total cost of pumping and filtering the water 
used during the past year, including all 
expenses at the water works and filtering 
plant, and water main expenses, has been 
$22,787.16. or equal to $22.04 per million 
gallons. 

MOLINE SCHOOLS. 

The first school house in .Moline was !)uilt 
in 1843 on the north west corner of Sixteenth 
Street and Fourth Avenue, where the Burling- 
ton freight house now stands. "The people 
of the new town," says an old settler, ''felt 
the need of a school, and of some place in 
which to hold religious meetings." Accord- 
ingly the owners of the town site donated 
two lots; a subscription was circulated and 
a brick school house built, which was for 
several years used also as a place of worship 
by different denominations. The first teach- 
er, who also served as city clerk and justice 
of the ])eace, was Joseph Jackman, a native 
of Mas.sachusetts, where he had been a school 
mate of Honorable Charles Atkinson. The 
school was subsequently taught by S. P. 
Hodges, who afterwards became county clerk. 
The jtresent school system dates from Ajiril, 
1873, when, tuider the city charter, and in 
accordance; with the revi.sfed school laws, the 
following board of education was elected: 
C. A. Wheelock, president; H. H. (Jrover, 
secretary; William H. l^dwards, Ezra Smith, 
C, C. Nathan and .Jonathan Hiuitoon. 

During the following year the board pur- 
chased sites for two new school houses; for 
the West \A'ard school, six lots of John 



Deere, for the East Ward school a part of 
H. R. Edwards block, paying respectively 
$3,000 and $1,500 in bonds. The Central 
school which also contained the High school, 
was erected on the old site, the contract 
calling for an outlay of $25,000. I'rom these 
beginnings has grown the ])resent excellent 
system, which according to the last school 
report is housed in ten large buildings, with 
all modern improvements, employing one 
hundred and twelve teachers, including special 
teachers and superintendent; and exi)ended 
for instruction and supervision alone, exclu- 
si^•e of care and maintenance of buildings and 
grounds for the season of 1907, .$68,186.74. 
The coiu'se of study begins with the kinder- 
garden; carries the child through eight grades 
into the High school, from which, after four 
years, he may pass on to any of the leading 
luiiversities or colleges, or find himself 
e(|uii)ped with a good education for the 
business of life. Throughout the coiu'se 
there is instruction by special teachers in 
music, drawing, physical cultiu-e and the 
"higher grades," and in the High school is 
offered industrial work, in the shape of cook- 
ing and sewing for the girls, and manual 
training for the boys, looking possibly to the 
establishment before many years of a model 
trade school; an advantage much to be 
desired in such a manufacturing center as 
Moline, 

The enrollment of all the schools for 1907 
was 3,836 pupils. 

MOLINE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

Next to the ]jublic schools of Moline as a 
popular educative agency, is the Carnegie 
PuIjUc Library and reading rooms. Indeed 
this latter institution, in the design of its 
foiuiders, is intended to carry up education 
to a higher jilane than that reached by the 
|)ui)lic schools, and to lead to a broader and 
more comprehensive intellectual culture. To 
this end, its plan comprehends not nierely a 
collection of books, newspapers and magazines. 



// I STU lil C R O C K 1 S L A N I) C U N T Y 



155 



l)ut also an art sallerv, a plai-i' (if ainiise- 
inent anil social conversati<ni. a collection of 
rare curiosities and cahinefs of natural history 
anil till' \ario\is sciences. 

iMeasin-es for the estahlishmont of such an 
institution in the City of .Molinc were taken 
in the Slimmer of 1S72, soon after the passage 
of the law allowing cities ami towns to raise 
miiiicy liy taxation for library purposes. The 
mayor, Honorable 1). b. Wheelock, on the 
'Jlsl of Sejiteniber, iSl'l, appoint eil the fol- 
lowiiin named persons a board of directors 
of the Molinc Public bibrary; J. T. lirown- 
ing, iMigene Lewis, S. H. \'elie, .1. ('. Starr, 
William H. Rus.sell, H. A. Ainsworth, H. H. 
(irover and E. Okerberg. Mi'. ()ki'i'berg 
declined to serve, and his ]ilace was lillc(l li\- 
Honorable Charles Atkinson. 

On the -Jlst of Seiitember, IS?'-', the Ijoard 
organized by electing the following oliicers- 
President, .1. T. Browning; vice-president, 
J. T. Starr; secretary and collector, H. H. 
'iro\'cr: executive committee, Merrs.s. Starr, 
\'elie and (lro\'er; finance committee, Messrs. 
P)ro\\iiiiig, \'elie and Atkinson. On books in 
foreign languages. Messrs. Pai'ker, llnssell 
and .Viiiswoi'th. On iMiglish books, Messrs. 
,\iiis\vort h. Russell and Lewis. 

In the Summer of LS7"2 the City Council 
approjiriated .fSOU. A meeting was (•.■died on 
the 17th of Decemljer. and .$3,()t)() were 
])ledgeil. the ladies organizing into a society 
and becoming responsible for $50(1 of the 
amount. This sum was soon increased to 
•?5, 57(5. 24. Rooms were obtaineil in the post- 
office biiililiiig of the Honoralile S. W. 
Wheelock; the first installfnent of books was 
purchased, and the library o]iened to the 
liublic .lannary 6, 1S73. Mrs. Kate S. Holt 
was appointed librarian ^larch L".l. 1S7.'!. 

The Iibrar\- found a generous patron in the 
pei'son of Honiil'able S. W. \Mieclock. whose 
nuinificent donation priniai-ily secured a 
permanent building for the librar\ . .Mr. and 
Mrs. \\'heeli)ck contributed -SoDd louard the 
original fund of the libral\-. .\s soon as the 



plans were completed, they also tendered the 
board the use of the second floor of the p)ost- 
office building, which was accepted. Mr. 
Wheelock always manifested great interest 
in the library, and i)lanned with broad and 
comprehensive views of its usefulness. 

On the Kith of March, IS77. he passed iner 
to the l)oard a deeil of the ])iistoliice building, 
the erection of which cost upwards of .|21),ll()l). 
and which was occupied imiil the opening of 
the new building. 

The new Carnegie library opened to the 
pulilic .laiiuai-y 2(i, 1111)4, was erected at a cost 
of S7(),(l()(), of this sum Andrew Carnegie con- 
tributed .'$37,()()(). The business Men's Asso- 
ciation of Moline constituted the most potent 
factor iji securing this sum from the iron 
master. At first Mr. Carnegie denieil the 
requests for his aid in erecting a library, but 
after a time, the matter was again iirgeij 
ujion him l.)y ^^'. A. .lones, who succeeded in 
his quest, and August iSl, IllOl. Moline was 
given notice that Mr. Carnegie had acipiiesci'd. 
and would donate .|37, ()()(). In respinise to a 
second request that the coul rilnition be made 
150,000 instead of *37,l)01). .Mr. Carnegie 
raised the sum to .140,01)0. September 4. 
1901, the library board accepted .Mr. Carne- 
negie's gift, and it was endorsed by the City 
Coimcil, November S, 11)01, the following 
were elected a building committee: C. -\. 
Barnard, L. 1). Dunn, Honoral)le ^^ . .\. 
Meese. O. F. Anderson, K. ('. J. Meyers. 

December 3, 1901, the \'elie property, 
corner of Seventeenth Street and Fifth 
Avenue, was purchased for .|l().0(l(). As the 
$40,000 was contributed .solely for luiililiug 
]iurposes the library board decided to s.ilicit 
public subscriptions to purchase the site. 
and on the 16th of Deceiiibei- twehc S.-iOO 
subscriijtions had been sccuri'd. with other 
moneys, amounting in all to about SI 3.0(11). 

The corner stone was laid May 2, 190;;, and 
the pidilic exhil)itiiig an exceptional iiilcest' 
and enthusiasni in the progress of tlic Imildiiig 
the lilirar\' board again appealed for piiMic 



156 



HISTORIC ROC K ISLAND COUNTY 



subscription, to the amount of $5,500, 
appending to their i-eipiest an itemized state- 
ment of the finances of the lilirary. As the 
time ehipsed more money was received by 
subscriptions and donations, until the sum 
amounted to .$7(),()()(). 

December 23, 1903, two bronze memorial 
tablets were ]ilaced in the hallway of the 
building. They were about two by three 
feet. The one on the right on entering the 
lilirary reads: "This building is the gift of 
Andrew Carnegie. Its furnishings were pre- 
sented by the citizens of Moline. F. F. Bor- 
golte, Architect." The one on the left reads: 
"Board of Du-ectors, 1903 — C. A. J5arnard. 
President; 0. F. Anderson, vice-president: 
?I. S. Hanson, secretary; W. A. Meese, R. C. 
J. .Meyers, L. D. Dunn, M. J. McEniry, C. W. 
Mnton, W. J. Davis, J. B. Oakleaf. 

The building is built of vitrified brick, 
trimmed with Jiedford Blue Stone. It con- 
tains 17,000 bound \-olumes, is equipped 
with every up-to-ilate a|ii.)liance, and is 
tastily and conviently arranged. 

The present board of directors comprise: 
Harry Ainsworth. president; ^^'. R. Moore, 
\'ice-]iresident ; Dr. E. A. Edlen, secretary; 
directors, H. F. A^ierich, Louis H. R. Kar- 
w.-ith. liolierl W. Rank. Frank Herbst. Dr. 
]•;. A. Edlen, W. R. Moore. H. A. Ainsworth 
and Edward Coryn. 

The librarian is Miss Minnie Kohler; 
assistants. Miss Hattie Skogh and Miss Lilian 
Owen. The librarj' is open from 9 A. M. to 
9 J'. M. on week days, and from 2 P. M. to 
G P. M. on Sundays. The board of directors 
meets the. first Tiiesday of each month. 

.MOJ.I.Xi'; (TTV HOSPITAL. 

In 1.S91 .Judge .lohn M. Oould framed a 
bill and went to Springfield asking the Legis- 
lature for a two-mill tax to be levied for 
hospital purposes for cities tinder 100,000 
inhabitants. After the bill was jiassed, a 
homo association was fornujd in 1892 and 
directors ap])ointed, consisting of Doctor A. 



H. Arji, Doctor W. K. Sloan and W. B. 
T'lman. The directors looketl uj) a site, and 
during I lie time until 1898 the ta.'^ aceumu- 
hition and doiuitions enabled them to build, 
and open the hospital that year with three 
patients. Prior to this the ladies had formed 
a society, .giving entertainments, the [iroceeds 
of which were used in fiu-nishing the hospital. 
Private individuals furnished private rooms, 
among which are the Swedish Ladies room of 
the Swedish Lutheran Church, the Allen room, 
Charles R. Stephens room, (ieorge Arthur 
Ste])hens room, the Deere room, the Child- 
ren's ro(un (ftu-nished and kept by the late 
Mrs. Sarah L. Atkin.son), the S. H. Velie 
room, and the Athletic Club room. The 
Ladies Hospital Association have ke]_)t uji 
the furnishings. The location selected was 
the old Hiram Pitts home, where the school 
was started for the instruction of nurses, aiifl 
is now called the Nurses' Home. The train- 
ing school for nurses is sujiported by the 
Ladies' Hospital Association, whirh furnishes 
their uniforms, and when they graduate gives 
each of them one hundred dollars. The 
superintendent of nurses is Miss Margaret 
Rooney; the matron. Miss Margaret Howe of 
Muscatine, Iowa; and there are ten nurses in 
attendance. The first board of directors 
(ajipointed by the mayor) was William But- 
terworth ajid Doctor August H. Arp. 

The number of patients treated since 189S 
to August, 1908, amounts to 2,695. The 
hospital is supported by taxation and fees of 
patients, and is in very flourishing circum- 
stances, with property in good condition, and 
self stistaining. The heating plant of the 
hospital is of the \'acuum A'apor System. A 
new bill has been presenteil to the State 
Le,gislature praying for the two mill tax to 
be increased to three mills. 

At ]iresent William Butterworth is presi- 
dent of the association, and Mrs. I^lorence 1). 
Sleight, secretary. The staff consists of 
twenty of the leading physicians of the city. 
According to the law under which the hospital 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 157 



was established. any lifeiised |)liysiciaii he must effieiciit in the \-ari(nis hranches, and 

in the state can take his patients tu this the greatest S""'l :i''<'"'"l'''s'"''l ■'' :i ini'ii'ii^ii" 

hospital and treat them. expen.se. 

MULINK HKAI.TH I )M1'.\ iJTM KXT. j„ ,„.,,^,,. h,!,'";.!;!,! ' stali^irs nuj;ht he 
(ii;(;a\iz\tii>\. nhtained. rec(irds aie kepi iil' hirlhs. con- 
On Septeml)er U, I'.M)."). an mdinance was tagioii. deaths and Imrial p(>rniits issned. No 
jnissed by the C'it}- Council of .Moline. creatiiiii hni-ial is ]iermitt('d without such permit: 
and establishinsi a board of health. On these are made out in dnplic;ile form, fiivinu; 
,lanuar\- '_'. I'.XKi. Dr. It. ('. .1. .Meyer was every important data, connected with such 
appoint(^l as the hi'st iMimmissioiuM-, and the burial: one is retained in tlie ofHce of the 
tirsi board coiisist(.'d (as requii-etl liy oi'di- health commissioner, the oth(>i' by the ceme- 
uance) of the commissioner. |l|-. H. (". .1. tery board : thus a duplicate record is kejit. 
;\Ieyor, chairman: the mayor. .Vndrew Olsen : pukk food divisiov. 
the chief of police, Edward Kittlesoii. secre- A laboratoiy was estahished in a room at 
tarv. The first meeting of the hoard was the water works, and the milk test begun 
held on .lanuary .'). 1906, at which time it was under the guidance and instruction of Pro- 
decideil that to accomplish the purpose of fessor W. ,T. Trueman of the State rniversity 
this department it Wdidd be necessary to start at- r-rliana. Illinois. In the inspection of 
with an efficient and comi)etent force of men. dairies and food stuff valual)le assistance was 
The first order issued was for sobriety, as rendered by Frank Hoey, Charles H. Kyell- 
follows: To the employees of the health depart- quist and other state insiiectors. It was soon 
meni : Von are hereby notilied not to frecjuent found that the faucet used by thi> milk men 
s:iloons during working lioui's: all employees was not properly constrncled, and a larger 
found in saloons dui'ing workiughoms will Ix^ and straighter one, one thai could lie easier 
immediateh- discharged. H yoider of thcheidth cleaned, was recommcndcil and its installa- 
department. R. C. J. Meyer. M . I ).. chairman. tion insisted upon: ihis wilh other recom- 
Tlie ordinance requii-es I he health <'om- mendations brought the milk pi-oduct up to 
missioner to set aside one hour each da\' dur- a high standard. .\l the suggestion of the 
ing which time he may heai- complaints, and health commissionei- an ordinance was passed 
transact other business in i-onnec1iim with by tlie City Cmmcil making it an (jffense to 
the olhce. The hmu- from '_' 1'. M. lo :i I'. M, sell or offer for sale any animal, fish oi- fowl 
was selected as the hour liest suited for such that was not drawn at the time of slaughter, 
purjio.ses. thus shutting out the cold sloi-age pi-oduct. 
Reports are Ijeing nnide weekly (o the and insuring sweet and wholesome meats, 
S\n-geon General Public Health and .M.arinc with little or no waste to the consumer. A 
Hospital Service. Treasur\- l>cparlnient, constant supervision is kept for unwholesome 
\\'ashington. D. C. food .stuffs, and upon the re(|uest of the health 
Monthly reports are m.'idc to llie ('it\- commissioner, an ordnnmci^ was passed grant- 
Council, and (uie to the State l'>o:u(l of Ileallh. ing power to the health dcpaltment to sieze 
The lirst I'eport to the ('it \- Council was m.ide such unwholesome food stuffs and destroy 
<ui I''ehruary 5. l'.)0(i. for the mouth of the same; this has had a beneficial effect, 
■lanuary. 1906. coxT.uaors nivisro.v. 

srsTE:\r.\Ti/i\i:. This department encountered an epidemic 

As this department was a new one a system of scarlet fever, and a lireat deal of diphtheria. 

had to be formnlateil. so that t he woidx miulit as well as small po\. chicken po\. measles, 



158 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



etc., early in its history. H tiles ^overninfi 
such cases had to l)e fi)rniulateil, ami en- 
forced; lint as the jieojile had lieen accus- 
tomed to la.xity in this regard, and did not 
understand the importance of strict regula- 
tions, considerable difhcnlty was encountered, 
and some arrests had to he made to enforce 
the rules. It was soon iliscovered that the 
department was handicapped by being sur- 
rouniled Ijy territory in which the quarantine 
regulations were not enforced. Arrange- 
ments were made l>y tlie health commissioners 
of Moline and of Rock Island to aj^point a 
committee of physicians of Hurk Island and 
Moline to co-ojjerate with the commissioners 
to formulate rules, and make them operative 
throughout this territory, as one; and the 
rules which had been adopted here in Moline 
were ]>ractically adopted, and the contagion 
stamped out. Jiut not without showing the 
urgent necessity of a contagious hospital, 
and through the efforts of Dr. Meyer the 
physician.s were organized and a committee 
appoin'ted, plans drawn and the Cit\' Council 
requested to provide funds for the construc- 
tion of such building. This jietition was 
signed by all the ])hysicians in the city. l)\it 
without effect. Such building was to take 
care of all contagious, infectious, consump- 
tive, and filthy di.seases in the city. 

S.\MT.\RY DIVISIO.V. 

The ordiannce requires tlie police depart- 
ment to assist the health department, and all 
patrolmen are required to rejiort all nuisances 
and matter detrimental to health to the health 
commissioner. Besides this a health inspector 
is ]jrovided, to be subordinate to, and under 
the personal direction of the commissioner of 
health. Many unsanitary conditions were 
found and abated. For cleaning the alleys of 
the city it was found best to divide the city 
up into districts, and place a man with his 
cart in charge, and hold him responsilile for 
his district. In the Summer time the rulv 
bish and garbage is collected sejiarately; the 
garbage is required to be free from water ami 



l)laced in co\ei'ed cans for removal. Weecls 
are cut before the pollen have a chance to 
form, and all matters detrimental to health 
looked after. 

rriu.ic iiA'rHs. 
It has long lieen known that boys and 
young men were in the lial>it of frequenting 
the slough and ri\er for bathing purposes, 
seeking out of the way and often dangerous 
places. To rectify such evils and to minimize 
the dangers incident to such practices, the 
health commissioner sought to establish a 
suitable place, and under proper supervision, 
where the ]:)leasures of the l)ath might be 
enjoyed, and the City Council was appealed 
to for permission to establish a bathing beach 
at Twenty-fifth Street, which was finally 
granted and construction commenced, but 
.owing to various difficulties, has not been 
completed. 

I'UliLIC CONVENIENCES. 

Realizing the necessity of better accom- 
modations for the public, and especially the 
stranger, the health commissioner urged the 
City Council lo take the initiative and 
establish accommodations in the City Park, 
and the ministers were urged to make pro- 
visions in their respective churches, with a 
general supervision entrusted to the police 
force, but so far nothing has been done. 

DEFECT.S IX HEALTH ORDINANCK. 

In establishing the Health Department of 
Moline, Health Commissioner Dr. R. C. J. 
Meyer discovered many defects in the health 
ordinance, and at various times recommended 
changes, and in his a,nnual report for 1906 
recommended an entire recast to be made. 
Because of its many defects, and because the 
health commissioner is supposed to have 
supervision of all sanitary matters, but is 
shorn of the power to enforce his orders. 
For the reason that the men «ho are hired 
by the board that are not appointed by the 
City Coiuicil, it is imjjossible for him to get 
rid of incompetent, disobedient help if the 
lioard sees fit to keep them on the pay roll. 



// / N T HI C ROCK I S L A X D COUNT Y lo'i 



nor is the health (■(imiiiissidiicr ahlc tn ad- This bnard of trustees a])])oiMtecl 8. P. Hodges 

minister the affairs of his ih'part niciit witli secretary, Joseph Jacl<niau treasurer, and 

strict economy uiKha- sucli cniidilions. Dr. Jose])li Pershin,i!,- sexton. .An ordinance t(j 

Meyer held that money iss|ieiit extravagantly. estal)lish and re,i;ulate the Riverside Cemetery 

for instance the inspector ;niil the li;irn hoss of the City of .^h)line, was jxissed June 7. 

should he oiu>. and tiic cnie s:ihii\ sa\('il to 1S7.'!. This ordinance dedicated to the jjur- 

the people. Such and other recommenda- po.se of burial, tiie ])re.sent Riverside Ceme- 

tions were made by \)v. Mexci-, but without tery, and vested its management in a board 

avail. Dr. Meyer also held that thisilepart- of directors, one of whom should be the 

meiit abo\-e all depai't mciits slundd lie kept mayor of the city, who, c.v-ojfirio. was to be 

out of ])olitics, in oi-der that I he gn^itest .i^ood the chairman of the l)oard, the six other 

may be accomi)lished for the peopile. nieirdjers to be a|)pointed by the mayor and 

The civic depaifmeut of the Wouuins' C'lulj consent of the City Council. John Deere was 

e been a great help to the health depart- mayor at this time, and the following were 



liav 



ment and a great deal of credit is due them aijjiointed members of the Ijoard, viz: H. O. 

for their labors. Sleight, A. S. Wright, C. W. I.obdell, D. L. 

_ Wheelock, H. H. Grover and A. Williams. 

RIVERSIDK CEMETERY. r w t i i ii i f i . i 

( . W . l>ol)dell was elected secretary and 

Tlie old Moline Cemetery consisted of about treasm-er July 25, 1S73. At this meeting a 

five acres, from the north center of the Bill resolution was ])assed requesting the City 

Mills farm, each lot holder being a member of Council to ac't upon .securing other grounds 

the Association. The association turning this further removed from the city, it Ijeing " the 

over to the City of Moline, who purchased opinion of the cemetery Ijoard that the 

seventy-five acres moi-e and afterwards ten present location of the cemetery will perma- 

acres additional, mailing allogcthci- ninety nently injm-e the gi'owtli of the city and 

acres. retard its prosperity." The City Council 

'J'he hrst burial gi-oimd in the \'illage of took no fa-\-oral)le action in the matter, and 

Moline was where Charles II. Deere's residence the plan of Daniel donhm. survevor, for 

now is. Iiodies being i-cmo\'c(l to the jiresent laying out the gi'ounds in its several outlines 

old cemetery, from which a lousiderable was ado]ited b\- the board. The same vcar 

iii'iiibcr ha\-e been remoxcd to the new |iart: (1873) it was \-oteil {n i-juse the public 

son.e interments ai'c still made in the ojdei' entrance to the old cemeterN- and to move 

portion. the gates to Ann Street (Si.xth Avenue) forth- 

Thc Moline Cemetery .\ssociat iiui was with. The ])resent lodge, for the use of the 

was 



incorpoi-ated by special chaitci- in IS.')1 . The superintendent of l{i\ei'side Cemetery 
petitioners for a chai'tcr wci'c .\. .1. Perkins, built in 1S,S4. 
11 nam Hull. A. F. Swaudci', U. X. Tate, 
.loscpli Jackman, L. Iv Okei- and (ieorge P 



M O LI X K MAN VFAVT I " R I ES. 



\'('sey. It was granted power to own real MOLLXE PLOW COMPANY. 

estate not to exceed ten aci'es. and funeral The business that e\ent uallv grew into the 

propeity not to exceed at one time Wve Moline Plow Compan\- was originalh- started 

liuudred dollars. .\f tin' lirst meeting of the by Henry Candee ami R. K. Swan. Asso- 

stockholders (owners of lots) held .May 5. ciated with them were Mr. L. Iv Hemenway. 

IS'il, for the iiiu-pose of electing trustees. J. P. Wy{doiff and others. They manu- 

eighty-(nie votes were cast: M. d'enell. N. C. factuicd successfully fanning mills and hay- 

Tyi'rell an<l Joseph Jaid^mau were elected. racks, in a wooden liuilding located on the 



160 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



l)reseiit site (if the iii;if;iiiKceiit plant of tlie 
Miiliiu' I'low (.'(iiii|i:iii\'. 

This busiues.s was started in 1865. and 
shortly after Andrew Friburg associated him- 
self with the company, and the nianiifactnre 
of plows was taken u|). 

In 1 S()6 Mr. fleoi'ire Stejihens added enouj;li 
ca])ital (o the liusiness to make him an equal 
partiiei' with the others, and for a number of 
years the business was carried on under the 
firm name of Candee, Swan and Company. 
'Sir. (ieor^e Stephens being in charge of the 
woodworking de|iartmeiit ; Mr. Friljerg of the 
blacksmith shop and iron woi'k; Mr. Swan 
did the Imsiiiess and attended to the sale of 
the product, and Mr.t'andee kept the accounts. 
The business proved a profitable one. and in 
1870 was incorj)orated under the name of 
"Moline Plow Company" with an authorized 
capital of $400,000, about .1:300.000 of which 
was paid up. Several other parties became 
interested as stockholders in the concern, 
prominent among them being Captain Good, 
A. I.. Carson, S.W.Wheelock and A. R. Bryant. 

The first president of the corporation was 
Mr. K. K. Swan; the second ]>resident Mr. 
S. W. Wheelock. who died in isitl. After 
the death of Mr. Wheelock. ^Ir. (leorge 
Stephens was elected ]iresident. His son. 
Mr. Cieorge Arthur Stephens, and son-in-law. 
Mr. F. (1. Allen were made co-managers and 
,!ii\en entire charge of the Inisiness. 

The company at that time had a paid up 
capital of .$800,000. which has been increased 
from time to time until it now reaches the 
enormous sum of .$6,000,000, the manufac- 
tured jiroduct having in the meantime in- 
creased |)roportionately until Moline i)lows 
are known the world over. 

In 1S84 they brought oiit the Flying Dutch- 
man sulky ])low, which revolutionized the 
sulky plow business the world over. Previous 
to that time all sulky plows had been of the 
two wheels variety, and in this respect are 
followers of the world-famous Flying Dutch- 
man. 



The sale of this ))low did a great deal 
towai'ds the building u]i of the lousiness and 
nuiking the lino manufactiu'cd by the Moline 
Plow Company popular witli the farming 
community. 

In IS86 the !\Ioline Cham])ion corn {)lanter 
was bought out and produced a revolution in 
the Uianufacture of the corn planter almost 
ecpial to that produced l)y the Flying Dutch- 
man in sulky plows. 

V\) to the time they began the manufacture 
of the Moline Champion corn planter, the 
company had never built a corn planter, and 
in a very short time they were the leading 
manufacturers of this class tools. 

Beginning as ]ilow manufacturers, they 
have from time to time taken on the manu- 
facture of cidtivators, harrows, disc harrows, 
judverizei's, potato diggers, stalk cutters, 
cotton i)lanters, cane tools, sugar beet tools, 
and in fact, practicall}^ everything used in the 
way of agricultural implements excepting 
grain drills and harvesting machinery. 

The present branch house system was 
inaugurated after ^Ir. George Stephens was 
elected president. Prior to that time the 
piroduct had been sold ])artially through 
traveling salesmen, partially through the 
jobbing trade and partially through some 
jobljing arrangements, of which the Plow 
Company was part owner. 

The first branch house of the |)resent 
system was started at Kansas City. Missouri, 
in 1892; was followed very shortly l)y one at 
Omaha, Nebraska, and since that time branch 
houses have been organized at Minneapolis, 
Minnesota; Dallas, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; 
Indianajiolis, Indiana; Stockton, California; 
Salt Lake City, Utah; \\'inni]ieg, Canada; 
Denver, Colorado :f New Orleans, fjouisiana; 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Portland, Oregon, 
and the Dakota-Moline Plow Company, 
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, making in all 
fourteen magnificent branch houses, all of 
which, with one exce])tion, the Moline-Bain 
Companv. at Poi'tland, Oregon, are owned 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



161 



.■iml (•(iiitrdllc.l liy tlir Mulinr l'l(]\\ Com- 
pany. 

Ill aililition to llic eiioriiioii> tiailc ile\cl- 
n|ic(l in the United Stat(>s, theii' I'oreifiii trade 
lias <i;ro\vii until it is a \'ery ('(msidcralile 
liiisiness in itself. 

'idle Moline idow Conipany and its liraiudi 
lionse.s emjdoy about two liiiridred (raveliiiii 
men in the United States. The olliee force 
of the Plow (.'oni|iany and the hraindi houses 
consists of in the neiglihorhood of three 
hnndred, and abont 1,200 men are constantly 
ein]j|oyed in the shop. 

In addition t(.> tlie giKjils manufactured by 
the Moline Plow Comjiany, the branch htnises 
are j(djbers of \-ehi(des, wa.n'ons, firaiii diills. 
seeders, hay tools, feei^l mills and other classes 
of asricvdtural implements. A very large 
))oi'tion of the \'ehicle8 and wagons are manu- 
factured by the Mandt Wagon (.'ont])any at 
Stonghton, Wisconsin, and the llenney Buggy 
Company, of Freeport, Illinois, both insti- 
tutions are branch factories of the Moline 
Plow Company, they lia\iiig been merged 
with that institution Se|itember 24, 1 900. 
Previous to the merger lliey wci'e owned 
|)rinci]ially and controlled by .Mi)|iii(> Plow 
Company .stockludders. Moline Plow Com- 
pany stock was issued lioUeis in the Hennev 
and Mandt factories in lieu of stock in those 
concei'ns. and for this pur]iose the capital 
stock of the Plow Company was increased 
from $4,000,000 to .«;6,0()0,000. This increase 
repre.sented the c'ombined (•.■ipitalization of 
the branch factories. 

The wagon factory employs abend f(uir 
hundred men; the buggy factory about three 
himdred, an<l both are kept busy producing 
high grade good.s which liiid a I'eady market 
through the branch liouse of the Moline Plow 
Company. 

Mr. George Stephens wdio was elected 
]iresident in 1892, de]iarted this life on the 
12th day of .July, 1902, full of years and 
honor, a man respected and lo\'e(_l l)y all who 
knew him. He died in his eightv-thii'd \ear 



.'ind wa-- succeeded as. the pi-esident of the 
company by his s(ui. .Mr. (ieorge Arthur 
Stephens, who has pi'oven a worthy .successor 
to his father. Mr. !■'. (I. .\llen was at the 
.'anie time ad\-anced to the office of vice- 
jiresident; Mr. C. U. Stephens, another .son 
of Mr. (ie(H-ge Stephens, is secretary and 
superintendent: C. A, Panister is treasurer. 

The company's busines.s at the present time 
is the largest in its history, and is steadily 
growing, with e\-ery indication of contimung 
to do so for years to come. 

The business policy, including the branch 
house system ado|)te(l by the co-managers, 
Mr. Stephens and Mr. 1". (1. Allen in 1892, 
has pro\en successful in e\'ery respect and 
indicates tli.il the judgment of Mr. George 
Stei)hens in placing the business in the hands 
of these men A\as good. Perha]).s he builded 
better even than he knew. 

.MOI.IXI'] \A AGON COMPAXY. 

The Moline Wagmi Company is indisputably 
the lin'gest firm in the world de^■oted exclus- 
i\ely to the making of w.agons. From a 
nucleus which euibixlied but a reiiair and 
wagon shop which was capable of proilucing 
but one hundred wagons annually, this 
company, under the masterly haml and pro- 
lific jiiilgmeiit of its legitimate founder, 
Ml'. Morris R<isentield. siicceedetl with a 
rapidity unheard (jf. and forged to the front 
rank of industrial enter|irises not onh' in 
Moline, but in the United States. .■••■S; 

In the mere shack in the eastern end of 
^loline, wliere , lames First trudged over the 
forge and an\-il for fifteen years for a mere 
living, the Moline Wagon Conn>anv was 
inspired and given lif(" b\- Mori-is Rosenfield. 
Mr. First had ofiened tlie'shop in 18,")4. "Sir. 
Rosenfield, in the year of 1S(>9, jierceived the 
vast territiu'v in whicdi wagons were a crying 
need, and the golden oi)i")ortiuuties offered 
Ijy the energetic, hustling and rapidh' settling 
west. 



162 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



]ii lli;il year, he foi-ined a piii'tiier.shi]) under 
tlie name of Heiiser, Kd.senfield and ('(unpany, 
Chai-les A. Renser Inn-ing been received into 
the (■oni])any. The newly formed company 
at (iiice erected a two-story Ijrick building on 
the pi-esent site of the now world-famed man- 
ufactory, and em]iloyed fifty men from the 
stai't. In 1S71 [irudence suggested an en- 
largement of the luiiidings, and an increase 
in the working capital, and a stock company 
was formed and incorporated under the laws 
of the State of Illinois, and was named the 
Moline Wagon Company. Mr. Ilosenfield 
was selected president and manager of the 
new corporation, an office he held up to the 
date of his death. 

Immediatelj- after the Company's new- 
formation, new buildings were erected, more 
wagons were built, and its trade extended to 
every i)ortion of the United States. The 
high standard of merit of its product which 
had been ]jre\'iously ])ainstakingly observed, 
was faithfully and zealously maintained until 
the name of the Moline Wagon Company 
liecaiiie accepted as the synonym of good 
material, scientific perfection and superior 
workmanship. 

Branch houses were estaljlished in every 
part of the Unictn. the fame of the Moline 
hght running wagons spread with the rapidity 
that characterizes all worthy and reliable 
\(Mitnr(>s or ])roducts, and the company, not- 
withstanding the additional spacious buildings 
it had erected, the vast amount of modern 
niachinory it had installed, or the ])rodigious 
increase in its working force and increased 
capital, soon found it difficult to keep pace 

"■ith II rders which poured into their 

office, and which still continue to strain every 
facility and resource of the great jilant. 

.Aside from the manini<ith buildings, a 
lumber yard, everywhere dotted with great 
dry sheds, and covering fully ton acres, is 
maintainod in conjunction with the factory. 
The company has branch headquarters from 
the f.-irthost point east to the farthers point 



west; they meet the keenest competition o^ 
wagonnuikers everywhere, and their farm, 
truck and spring wagons, known resjiectively 
as "The Moline," and "The New Moline" 
light running wagons, are celebrated in c\-ery 
civilized clime. 

The ]iresent officers of the company are: 
Walter A. Rosenfield, president; Morris Geis- 
mer, secretary and treasurer. That these 
gentlemen are dully qualified to manage the 
gigantic business is best illustrated by the 
continued prosperity the company is enjoy- 
ing, the increased business which is theirs^ 
and by the rapidity with which the enlarge- 
ment of the company's facilities becomes 
imperative. The Moline Wagon Company is 
now capitalized at $600,000, and its a-\-erage 
output is 30,000 complete wagons per annum. 
Its working force has been augmented until 
now it nvimbers a]:)pro.\imately four hundred 
workmen, among them the most skilled 
mechanics in their ])articular line to be found 
anywhere. The ground occuiiied by the 
Ijuildings covers over five acres, the buildings 
are of brick, six stories high, four hundred 
and fifty feet in length, ami two scpuires in 
width. They are jirodigious to im))ressive- 
ness; the}- have been constructed with an 
eye to sanitation and convenience for the 
men emi)loyed. are well heated and lighted • 
the up-to-date machinery is amply protected, 
to insure safety to life and limb of operatives, 
and no friction l)etween employer and 
employee has ever arose to mar the ]iacifi<' 
relations of master and man. 

THE WAAV: CARRIAGE COMPANY. 

The A'elie Carriage Com])any iilanf situated 
in iloline, Illinois, was established in 1902 by 
gentlemen of widely known reputations in the 
middle west and who had been affiliated witli 
manufacturing industries in that city for 
many years. Foreseeing a future scarcity of 
land for desirable factory sites, a tract of six 
and a lialf acres in extent was ])urchase(l. 
from which :[ strip four hundred and fift\- feel 



// / ,s' T U n I C R OC K I ti L A \ D C U N T V 1 G3 

Inns and unc liiiii(lrcil niid twciity fpct wide feet in 1'.l()4. and lately increased, in I'.HXj, to 

was set aside foi' liuildin,!:; |)us|)<)ses. '_'()! ,()()() s(|nare feet and llie (Uitput (if 7,200 

.\ factory liuildin,ii was oi'ecleil and cdni- jolis shipped the first year has increased to an 

pleted in the l''all of 1 !)(tL', consist in.uof three annnal ontpnt of 20,000 \ehi(des, with a 

Hooi's and haseinent, four hundied feet lon.c, factoi-y capacii\- of one hundred finished 

and eifihty feet wide, e(|nipped with the most \-ehicles a da\ . 

inipro\ed and highest firadc niachinei-y, all of I'i'oporl ioiiale w i( li I his increase of business^ 

which is operated by electrical power. tlie eui|iloynient of men has grown from one 

Special consideration was gi\en liy the hnmlreil the first year (o thi'ee hundred and 
management in the an-angement of depart- fifty, the gi'eater prop<irtion IxMug heads of 
nients, so as to facilitate the manufacture of famili(v, located peuuanentiv in Moline and 
vehicles, each department compl(>te in itself \{tick Island, and the owners of homesteads 
and with operations systematized to he con- and as (hey ai'e employed steadily ten hours 
tinnous and pro.aressive and material econoni- a day throughout the entire year, the services 
ically handled. Employment of the most of the most skilled work men are assured, 
skilletl workmen, directed In- men of estab- 
lished reputations, iusure.l the manufacture Ml'TCM. WHI-lKl, COMI'.WV. 
of vehicles that are |)raclical, durable and The Mutual Wheel Company, Moline, Un- 
reliable. The building is heated by steani nois. was organized in IS'.M and commenced 
throughout, thoroughly well lighted, thus operations on the present site about the first 
enabling the mento work totheljest advantage, of January. 1S92. The origimd caiiital in- 

In manufacturing, no expense is sjiared to \es(ed by the stockholders was about $40,000. 

increase facilities ami ado]it the liest methods and .Mbout (ifty men were at first employed, 

for the impro\('ment of tlie p)roduct. Mr. 1). .M . Sechlcr, founder of the I). AI. 

The most liberal patronage of 1 !)0M-1 <)04 Sechler Carriage Company, was the first 

taxed the cajiacity of the plant to its utmost, |>residenl of this company, and Morris Roseu- 

so that an increase was foimd uecess,-u'y .-ind field was (he first \ice-pi'csiilen( . The busi- 

a second building was constructed in (he ues^ of tlie conipaiu" has increased \cvy 

I''all of 1!)0!, cuie half the i\-ipaci(y of the rapidh' until at the present (ime the factory 

first, two himdreil and eiglif feet long and is one of the largest in t!ie I'liited States in 

eighty feel wide, three stories and basement. this line. 

which with miiioi' extensions to the original The present capital slock of the I'ompany 

plant, increasetl the capacity from forty to is -SoOO.OOO and two hundred and fift}- skilled 

seventy-five finished \ehicles a day. mechanics are eni[)loyed throughout the year. 

The very largely increased business of tlie Tlie annual output is more than 100.000 set.s 

following years, has necessitate<l the occupa- of wheels for carriages, wagons, buggies, etc. 

tion of more factory space and (he thiid The facloi-y has always found a ready sal.e 

building, abutting I he secmid ami pidpor- for all of its pi-ddiicts and the Mutual wlieels 

tioned to couiiterpai't the original building are well known throughout the west. .\ 

bas lieen biiil(, thereby making two factory large proportion of the wheels manufactured 

buildings four hundred feet long and eighty go to (he large carriage manufacturers at 

feet wide, with unusually favorable shii)])ing home and in tliis vicinitw 

facilities, l.)eing located on the trunk lines of Resides the factory here the company has 

three different railroads. a number of branch stock ]ilauts in the timber 

Their limited floor sjiace in 1903 of 12S, 000 districts of the south and a large force of 

stpiare feet was increased to 199,000 square timber l)uyers are constantly emi)loyed looking 



164 



// ] STO RI C ROCK I S L A N D COUNT Y 



after flood hifkorv timber out of which to 
make spokes ami felloes for the wheels. Tlie 
present otlicers of the coniijany are as follows: 
J. 1,. Rol)iiisoii, ijresident, Freeport, Illinois: 
J. ('. Moon, vice-president. St. Loni.s, Missouri; 
(!e()i-,i;e McMaster. secretai-y and treasm-er- 
.Moline. Illinois. 

THK \VH1(;HT (WRRIAGE HODY CO. 

The Wright Carriage Body Comjiany was 
organized in 1902 with a capital of $50. (KM): 
seciu'in.g its chai'ter in November, 1902, as a 
stock com])any, its first officers being T. M. 
Seciiler, president: C. W. Wright, vice- 
])resident antl manager: E. H. \\'ilson. secre- 
tary and treasurer. Its first board of direc- 
tors were T. 1\I. Sechler. W. L. Velie, H. C. 
First. ('. W. Wright, Fred Peters, F. H. 
Wilson of Moline, and C. H. Dooley of Rock 
Island. 

A two-stoi'y factory Imilding, one hundi-ed 
and fifty by sixty feet with sixty by sixty-five 
feet wing for engine, boiler and dry house, 
was erected and actual manufacturing of 
carriage and buggy liodics and seats began 
in :March, lOO.*^. 

Ill October, 19(14. .Mr. \\'right withdrew 
from active connection with the com}.)any and 
v.. H. \Mlson. who up to this time had been 
in charge of the office and the financial affairs 
( f ihe company, assumed the management. 

Mr. \A'ilson at once reorganized the working 
fdrcfs and doubled the capacity of the ]>lant, 
creating an (nit]iut of ;!(l,0()0 coni|)lete jf)b,s 
|)er year. 

At the annual nicedng of stockholders held 
Sei)teml)er ."J, 1906, it was voted to doulile the 
cajjital stock, making it $100,000; which was 
at once taken u]) almost wholly Ijy former 
stockholders and additional buiklings were 
constructed which allowed the company to 
again double its cai)acity. 

This company has already made a re))>ita- 
fion for g(i(Hl work and is making fast strides 
(oward being one of Mobile's leading manu- 
fact uring plants. 



.MOI.IXE FURXITFRE WORKS. 

The Moline Furniture Works was incor- 
porated in 1S9.S with a cajiital stock of 
$2.5.000. Their princi])al nnmufacture is wood 
mantels, office and store fixtures, and siiecial 
fiu'niture to order. Officers of the company 
are: Geoi'ge \\ . .fohnson, president and 
treasurer; F. A. Landee, vice-jiresident ; F. 
A. Johnson, secretary. In 1907 the capital 
.stock was increased to $100,000. Since 
starting in 189S they have yearly ex])erienceu 
a very flattering inci-ease in their i)usiness, 

DEERE iV COMPANY. 

Our activities as a nation are industrial, 
not military. 

American history can furnish no subject 
more inspiring than tiie achievements of men 
whose life stories are told in the growth of 
the industries which they alone created, 
especially \vhen those industries have devel- 
oped into national in- international import- 
ance, as a result of constructive policies. 

Militai'y achievement is a fruitful source of 
])atriotic inspiraticm. but should lie drawn 
upon widi caution. It is fitting that on- 
coming generations should draw a portion of 
their inspirations from the soldiers of industry 
among whom th.ey must cast their lot. 

Men who build up great industries, give 
employment to working men. and -wrest trade 
from foreign countries, shoidd be as nuich 
objects of national admirati<m as military 
heroes. 

After all, the real civilization of a country 
is measured by its industries and not l)y the 
size or efficiency of its armies. 

Progress results frcnn the birth of new 
desires and the growth of new necessities. 
Satisfying these new desires and supplying 
these new necessities call forth men of geniiis 
who devise the ways and means and lay the 
foimdations for new industries. 

The necessity for a plow that would scuui- 
in the l^lack, sticky prairie soil of the west. 



II I S T R I C RO C K I S L AND CO U N T Y 



16.i 



(Milisted the genius ami ciici'iix' of .loliii Deere, 
will) iii\('iil('il llic sled plow, which is now 
the coi'iKi' stone ol' llie ureal niannt'act nriuii 
inilustiy ol' I )eere ami ('oiii|iaii\'. hike olher 
men who ha\'e achie\'eil success, he had an 
uphill tiiilil. The story of the pluck ami 
energy ilispla\'e(l and ol the olistacles o\-er- 
coine until success was linalh' I'ealized. ciui- 
stitntes an inipoi'tani chapter in our histoi'y. 

^^hile .lohn 1 )eere did not hejiin work on 
the '^teel plow until alter he was thirt\' \'eai's 
of au'e. his pre\ions experience had much to 
do with his siM'cess in this, the fireatf.sl effort 
ol his lite. He was a n.atural inecdianic and .a 
1 horoiiiihly trained hhac-ksinit h. lie also 
.iiaiiied coiisiderahle e\|)erience that pro\-e(l 
heljiful in later years, while making hoes and 
ot lier farm tools. 

In l.SoT Mr. Deere joiue(l the gretit stream 
of hardy settlers then piuitinji into the west, 
where opportunities for i2,aiiiiii<; fortune 
seemed uiilimileil. lie landed in (Iraiid 
Detour, Illinois, with his experiences and 
alioiit .seventy-fi\'e doll;irs in cash. 

He immetlititely hejiati to work at his 
frtide, and cominii; in daily contact with 
farmers soon learned that their .greatest weed 
was a plow that would scour in their soil. 
His acti\e nund heiian to work on the prohlem 
of i)roducini; such a |ilow, and is was not loni;: 
liefore he h.ad a soIuti(Mi. The hrst steel 
plow was ciuisl ructed. li proxcd a success. 
A new epoch in .aiiricult ure was ushered in 
and a new aiitl ureal industry dates from that 
time. 

The expression, " lU'W epoch." is used 
advisedly. In ls:!7, when .lohii Deere Imilt 
his Hrst steel pl<iw. .Vmerican farms did not 
produce enotiuh to supply limne ciuisumption. 
The u;round was ]iossesse<l of \-irj:iu fertilit\'. 
Iiut implements were so ciaide that the \ast 
areas a\ailial>e cimld not he prepared proHt- 
alily for seedin.u. Tlie steel plow did more 
than any otlier a.uency to I urn th.e tide of 
affairs. \ow, thanks to its Use. this coinitry 
is the fireatest e.xporter of food stuffs, oiu' 



farms [iroducitiu a lar^e surplus over and 
al)o\'e our daily wants. The handlin.u; of thi.s 
siu'plus pro\ides emplo\inent for an ai'in\' of 
wiirkin.u men and is the liasic support of most 
of the .ureal industries for which we ,ai-e 
justly famous. 

The industry createil out of an idea in a 
prixate lilaidcsmit h shop, has urow ii haml in 
hand with auricnlttu'e until it has attaiiu'd 
the present iiuposiu.u ma.unit ude of Deere and 
Company. Its products are known the world 
o\'er and the mime of .lohii Deere ranks with 
those of I'lilton, Wall. Whitney and (Uhers 
of eipud impiirtance. 

Stranue as it ,in;iy seem, the first diHi(Milty 
in marketiiii; the new steel |)lows was tu f;et 
farmers to try them. Several manufacturers 
had taken aiKanlaue of the demand for a 
self-polishiiifi plow, to market plows which 
were said to scmir, Inii in reality would not. 

,lohn Deei'e stencilled his ])lows "self 
polisher," and displayed them in front of his' 
shop. I'assinu farmers would look at them 
and remark: "self-polisher f)e d- -d. there 
nevei' will lie a plow that will scour in this 
prairie soil." .Mr. Deere mi heariii"' such a 
remark would ask. "straufier, where do \-ou 
li\e'.'" ()ii lieinu told, he would rejily, " take 
this plow home with you and try it. If it 
does not scour, I will send and i;et it without 
any expense to you. If it does scour. I 
want you to pay me for it." Even ,sueh 
liberal terms interested only a few at first, 
tlie rest preferrinu not to lie bothered with 
tr\uiiu an implement which tXwx were sure 
would not woi'k. OiiK' two plows were put 
out in l.s:5S, and but leu in 1 ,s;^(). After 
this, howe\"er, the deiuand increased \-ery 
rapidly and the .ureat diliiculty was to suppl\- 
it. Ill fact, at no time has the dem.an I for 
.John Deei-e plows been coiii])letely supplied, 
which accounts for the steady, healthy ,urow tli 
in their manufacture. 

It soon became ap])arent that (iraiid De- 
tour, because of its lack of power and trans- 
portation facilities, was not a suitable place 



166 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



for a large plow manufacturing indu.stry. In 
those days tliere were no railroads. Water 
was the only economical source of |)ower and 
avenue of transportation. 

Mr. Deere, together with .Mr. Tate, his 
foreman, traveled about the c'ountry looking 
for a desirable location. Tliey finally decided 
on Moline, Illinois, an<l moved tliere in 1847, 
being attracted by the excellent water power 
and transportation facilities afforded l)y the 
Mississippi River at thiit jjoint. 

The manufacture of jilows was begun imme- 
diately, and by the Autumn of 1848, the 
business had grown to such an e.xtent that 
it became necessary to form a more efficient 
organization. Mr. J. M. Ciould, who was then 
a member of the firm of Deere, Tate and 
Gould, 23roceeded to organize the office force, 
and establish a system of accounts. He also 
took hold of the selling end of the business, 
anil carried out the ])laiis for financing the 
company on a larger scale than befoi'c. 

Merchants in those days woidd not Iniy 
jjIows outright, as they did other articles of 
merchandise. It was, therefore, necessary 
to leave the plows at the various agencies to 
be sold on commission. They were to be paid 
for at the time of sale, but many farmers gave 
their notes instead of cash. . Dealers would 
not advance anything on these notes and it 
was necessary to wait until their maturity in 
order to get money. 

In the face of such C(uiditions, and the lack 
of local banks, it was often difficult to finance 
the firm. Money had to he borrowed mostly 
from individuals. Largely for these reasons, 
there was no j)ay-day for the employes. 
Plows were traded to the merchants of 
Moline, Rock Island, Davenport, Muscatine 
and other nearby towns and orders given on 
them to the workmen for what they wanted. 
.Money was never ])ai<l out for wages, unless 
an employe left or was discharged. In such 
cases, any wages due were settled for in cash. 

It was also difficult to transfer money, 
liecause exchange could be lun-chased onh- 



occasionally. In the summer time money 
was sent to St. Louis for this pin-pose by the 
steamboat clerks, but in winter, even this 
convenience was cut off. 

Another difiiculty was to get the plows to 
the various agencies. It was necessary to 
ship them by river to distributing points and 
then liaid them by team to the merchants 
throughout the interior. This was a slow 
and uncertain i)rocess, but the only one 
available. 

These illustrations serve to show the 
inconveniences that, in those days, handi- 
capped the conduct of a business of more than 
local consequence. However, each difficulty 
and discouragement was surmounted. John 
Deere plows were winning their way and the 
firm gathered additional strength with every 
victory over these adverse conditions. 

In 1852, both Mr. Tate and Mr. Gould 
retired from the firm, and .Mr. Deere con- 
tinued the business alone. The demand for 
his plows steadily increased and the outiiut 
was increased as fast as jjossible, but could 
never be made to equal the demand, a con- 
dition which still exists. In 1857 ten thous- 
and ]ilows were nninufactureil. This was 
considered an enormous out))ut in those days, 
and it was, conditions considered. 

By 1868 John Deere's business hail grown 
to such proportitms that a. more comiilete 
organization of the manufacturing and selling 
departments became necessary. Accordingly 
Deere and Company was incorporated, with 
John Deere as president, V. H. Deere, his son, 
as vice-president and general manager, and 
iS. H. XeYie as secretary. 

Deere and Company's growth has always 
been steady, sure, and in resp.mse to a 
demand for its jiroducts that has remained 
in advance of its ability to supply. The 
company has grown from an idea ile\-el;)|.)ed 
in a little country blacksmith shop, through 
the factory stage, into a great industry with 
magnificent manufacturing and selling organ- 
izations. It is a fittino' monument to .lohii 



// / S TONIC ROC K I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



167 



Deere, its founder, and ('. II. Deere, whose 
H'enius for organization made it the great 
in(histry it now is. 

1^)day the lloor space of Deere and ('oni- 
paiiy's tactiil'N' ('(|nals llie ai'c.-i of a good 
sized farm and a i-()m|ilele inipienient is 
tiii-iied out e\'ei'y llui'ty serunds of the worl-;- 
iiig year. In addition to this. o\-er a niilli<in 
|iiow shares are made annnally to e(|ui|i .lohn 
Deei'e jilows already- in use. ddiis one item 
alone e.\ceeds the entiri' output of many plow 
factories. Facilities are ample for ship[)ing 
fifty complete car loads of implements a day. 
The system of overhead tracdxs, upon which 
im]ilements and jiarts ai'c con\-eyetl from one 
ilepartment to tlie other, is so perfect that no 
handling is necessary fi-om the time they 
leave the paint sho]) until in front of the car 
door for shipment.' 

(-ireat distrilniting comi)anies have been 
organized in the principal centers throughout 
the Country, some of tliese coniijaiiies being 
the largest of their kind in the world. 

The Deere organizations furnish a livelihood 
to about twenty thousand jjeople, and cover 
the civilized world in their operations. 
\\'herever the American citizen goes, he 
finds that John Deere plows ha\'e precede<l 
him. 

Agricultural success makes the railroads 
possible and keeps the wheels of industry and 
commerce in constant motion. The steel plow 
made agricidtnre a success. It emancipated 
the farmer from bondage to the soil, enabled 
him to l)uild public schools in which to edu- 
cate his children and comfortable homes in 
which to enjoy the comforts of life. 

^^'heu histoi-\' fiiKiU}- casts up e\ents and 
determines what is worth while, the faces of 
John and t'. H. Deere will be seen in the hall 
of fame. 

The industry which the one create<l and the 
other developed will be an dbject to 
which e\-ery true .American will point with 
pride. 



ARC I LLC) WORKS. 

Argillo \\'orks. one of tlie leading industries 
of Rock Island ('ounty. and located at C'arl)on 
Cliff, Illinois, was incorporated in 1S(3.") by 
William S. Thonuis, Adoniram L. Wait and 
.lereniiah Chandjerliu, with .a capital stoid< of 
.1i;i()(),(H)(). Jeremiah Chamberlain was the 
first ))resident, ha\ing been elected at the 
time the plant was launched, and serx'ing 
foiu' years. .Mr. Chandierlin was succeeded 
in 1 S(39 by >Ivlo Lee, who served fnun th.at 
time until 1S96. 

To these two men can be attril)uted the 
success of the plant, as it was they who 
[liloted it through from a mere experiment to 
a well |3aying in\'estnient. The succeeding 
presidents up \uitil the present day have also 
given thoroughly capable service, and under 
their supervision the plant gradually increased 
its earning powers until now it is one of the 
county's most thri\-ing industries. 

In 1S96 W. 'V. liall became president and 
continued until .1. V. Rol)inson was elected 
president in LS!)!I. Lpon the death of Mr. 
Robinson, his wife, Mary K. Robinson, 
became its president in \W.\. and still holds 
tluit ])osition. 

The Argillo WOrks manufactures clay 
products, principally fire bri(dc and farm 
drain tile, which are widely distributed 
throughout the state, and in fact all parts of 
the United States, 

TRI-CITV MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIA- 
TION OF THE CITIES OF DAVEN- 
PORT, ROCK ISLAND AND MOLINE. 

The Tri-City Manufacturers' Association 
was organized in the year 1900, with C. H. 
Deere of Moline as president, and l'>. H. 
Sleight of Moline as secretai'y. 

The general object at that time was the 
])roniotion of the interests of the three cities 
along nuuiufacturing lines. Although started 
with some enthusiasm, it soon languished 
and i^ractieally ceased to exist until two 



168 



U I STO RI C ROCK ISLAND COUNT Y 



years later. When tlie machinists through- 
out the country struck for a sliorter work- 
day, the Tri-City Manufacturers' Association 
awoke to life again, and ])ractically reorgan- 
ized as a defense associaticui to dieck the 
rising tide of trade unionism. The move- 
ment here was sinudtaneous with otliers 
throughout the country, tlu' e\-er increasing 
and arbitrary demands of labor unions nudv- 
ing it necessary for employers to unite in 
order to offer effective resistance. 

The work of this association as indicated 
above, has been principally of a defensive 
nature, but it has also been influential in 
various other-ways. Its influence was exerted 
in belialf of the Interstate Commerce Bill, and 
in opposition to the so-called Uniform Bill of 
Lading, and an active campaign was carried 
on under its auspices for the cause of reci- 
procity. 

The princijial membership of this associa- 
tion is in Moline, and while the association as 
a whole cannot act, yet the Molina members 
have frecjuently met for the consideration of 
matters pertaining to the welfare of their 
city. The Moline members of this associa- 
tion paid for a new private water main along 
the river front from the water works west, 
which forms a very important secondary 
water su]i]ily in case of fire; indeed superior 
to the Third Avenue main. A recent fire at 
the Mutual A\'heel \\'orks was checked by 
this new water main oidy, when the Third 
Avenue main had collapsed. It seems cjuite 
probable that a very disastrous conflagration 
would have l>een started had it not been for 
the new main. 

The Moline mend)ers of this association 
purchased a lot and also advanced the mnney 
for a new fire station north of the railroad 
tracks. At their suggestion the city is put- 
ting down a new water main on Tinrd Avenue, 
for which the i3ro])erty owners are being 
assessed. These improvements, although ])aid 
for by the nuinufacturers or tlie property 
owners on Third Avenue, are f(]r the benefit 



of the whole city, which is practically de- 
pendent upon manufacturing for its ])ros- 
perity. 

The members of the jManufacturers' Asso- 
ciation have also contributed liberally to 
many jiublic objects. I might mention the 
new bathing house on P-ighteenth Street, also 
the various conventif)ns which come to this 
city, the Manufactiu'ers' Hotel, the Moline 
Theatre, etc. 

Tri-City manufactiu'ers are liberal givers 
toward public functions and enterprises. The 
great victory in obtaining a handsome con- 
gressional a])])ropriation for a (lovernment 
lock was brought about largely through the 
efforts of the numufactiu'ers, and the estab- 
lishment of such lock will prove of tmtold 
value to the community. .\ standing com- 
mittee co-operates with other civic organiza- 
tions in public benefactions, the reception 
and entertainment of conventions, and secur- 
ing desirable and representative assemblages 
for local entertainment. 

Information of general importance is com- 
municated to the membership by a syste- 
matic series of bulletins from the secretary's 
office. From the same source items of 
general interest are bulletined from the 
association's affiliated organizations, includ- 
ing such far reaching associations as the 
National Association of Manufacturers, Na- 
tional Founders Association, National Asso- 
ciation of Agricultural Imjilement and Vehicle 
Manufacturers, Metal Trades Association, 
Citizens Industrial Association, National Asso- 
ciation of Credit Men, and others. 

Along defensive lines mentioned above, 
our association defended against the machin- 
ists' strike in 1900 and the moul.lers' strike 
in 1903, successfully in both instances, and 
this we believe was not only on account of 
our firm froid, Ijut liecause we were essen- 
tiallv right in our position. The manufac- 
turers conferred with the men and offered a 
reasonalile ccunpromise settlement, but in 
neither instance would the unions acce])t less 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY KW 

than tlicir full ilcin.-mcls in every particular. laws and iueorporatioii, a preamble was drawn 

This arl)iti':iry stand iia\'e the inaiiut'acturers up, the import of which was that the associa- 

the moral support of the ciuuniuiiity. and of tion was orijanized to sul)ser\'e and advance 

a Inrsc part of I lie wdi-kmen as well. all material and legitimate interests of 

In (•(uiclusi(ni would say that the Tri-City Moline, I'^ast M(dine and A'icinitw and oui- 

Manufacturers' .Association is only one of welfare tjenera 11 \-. 

many iiisl it \it ions which of late years ha\'e The memliership at present is aliout (Uie 

sprung up all over the count I'v in response to hundred. The association ine(^ts the secmid 

tlu' pressini!: necessity of nuiint ainiuj; a check Tuesday of each month, the lioard of dii-ectoi-^ 

a.ii.ainst t he warlike attitude of traile unionism. the Tuesda\- pi'e\i(uis, the annu.-d ineetini;s 

The pulilic in f^eneral will readily perceive the are held the second Tuesda\ in ()ctolier. 

necessity of these organizations, l'',mployei-s The incnilldy meetin.ns w ei-e held in \;irious 

must look 1o themselves largely to nuiinlain places, lirst in the City Hall, then in Mc- 

their own rights, which no (Uie els(> will do if Kinnie Hall, MolineCluli Hall, l^lksCluh. and 

they neglect it. Whatever the henetit of Assemlily Hoom of t he Peoples Sa\-ings Jiank 

trades uiuonism. and without entering into and Trust ('(uupanw The hoard of directors 

further discussion, it is evident that they have hold their meetings in the secretar\-'s ofiice, 

beeir the cause of ]irices advancing fully as The association is a meml)er of the I'ppe- 

fast as they lunc affected wages, that they ]\Iississip]M River Improvement As.^.iciat i ui. 

have sowed discmitent and warfare in ])eace- as well as a member of the National lioard 

ful commimities, and that strikes have caused of Trade. It has always been represented 1>\- 

an immense amount of misery. They have a large delegation at the anniud meetings of 

ainu'd to destroy kindly relations lietween both these orgaiuzaf ions wherever lield. It 

em]iloy(>r and the individual em];)loyee, has shown what can he accomplished h\- a 

The Tri-("it\' Manufacturers' Association united effort, by holding the Street l''air of 

stands for the ojjcn shop, but it also .stands 1S!)<), which attracted more ])eople to the 

for a high standard of wages. If we should city than any other event held heretofore, 

e\-er lose our influence, or fail to accomplish also celebrating the same year, the I'"om'lh of 

the results we aim at, it will be iiecause we Jidy, with a public demonstration the like of 

have neglected to pay high enough wages to which was never known in this part of the 

an intelligeid and manly class of workmen, country. It installed artisan water mains to 

H.ARRY Ai.xswoRTH, the public fountain on Market Stpuire, it 

M\-Hecretary. placed other fountains in the city, it installed 

Moline. Illinois, Se)itember S, 1906. electric street decoration.s as well as flag 

decoration.s for all fe,sti\'e or com-entional 

THE MOI.INK HUSINESS MEN'S ASS(J- ■ rp, ■ ,■ . ,, 

occasions. 1 he assocnition hnaui'iall\- assists 

>.iAixwi\. j^j. ^i^g expense of all State convciuicms held 

In response- to a petition circulated by in the city, and is instrumental in getting 

Messrs, C, F, Dewend and C. Iver Josej^hson, these various conventions to (-(uiic hei-c. It 

a meeting was held in the City Hall on Sep- is continually looking after the inl roducti ui 

tember lo. bSiiS, which was attended li\- about of new industrial institutions to sellle here, 

one hundred of Moline's most .proniineni and has been instrumental in ohtainiiuj: 

business, proiessional and niaiuifacl uring men various new factories. Through its persislcni 

1(U- the purpose of organizing the abn\-e asso- efforts Moline received an approprial iiii fr ru 

ciation. Tem|)orary otticers and committees the Cieneral (lo\-ernmfMit of S^iSli, 1)0(1 fm- a 

were appointed on membership, tinance, by- steamboat \^n■k and harh ir. I'lic l.i(d< has 



170 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



been completed and was accepted by the 
National Government engineers on the 7th 
instant of this month (January, 1907). the 
deepening of the channel harbor and con- 
strncting a landing, and the beautifying of 
River Side Park with trees, shrubbery, drives 
and walks, will all be completed this year, 
giving Moline a beautiful park, in the center 
of the city, on our river front. 

Dvu-ing the last year it has undertaken and 
accomplished the building of a niddern 
theatre at a cost of $75,000, of which sum the 
association paid $10,000, raised through a 
seat sale and donations. The theatre was 
built entirely upon plans and under the svu'- 
veillance of the association. There is no 
more modern Iniilding of its kind, and of its 
size, outside of Chicago. 

The unity of thought and action un the 
part of the members and the directors, with 
the financial assistance generously bestowed 
by our manufacturers and business men, has 
made it jiossible, and will in the future make 
it possible, to carry on the great work for 
which we are striving, namely, a Greater 
Moline. 

MOLINE RETAIL MERCHANTS' ASSO- 
CIATION. 

This association, like the Retail Merchants' 
Association of Rock Island, affiliates with 
both the National and State organizations. 
Like other bodies of its kind its objects are 
to advance and protect the business interests 
of its members, to abate trade abuses and 
illegitimate ])ractices, to secure beneficial 
legislation, and in various ways produce a 
feeling of friendliness and co-operation be- 
tween the varied business interests and the 
])\U)lic as a whole. 

This association was instituted April 1, 
1903. It is now incorporated. 

The first workers in the movement looking 
to the perfection of this organization were: 
B. H. Quick, S. S. HofTman. C. F. Dewend, 
Martin Carlson, Charles G. Hogberg, C. 0. 



Lovejoy and William Carstens, who, with 
the help of the above gentlemen, did the first 
soliciting for membership. Such was their 
success that inside of ten days one hundred 
and fifteen business men liad signed the 
charter list. 

The first regular meeting place was at 422 
Sixteenth Street, where permanent head- 
quarters are now located. 

The success of the Retail Merchants A.sso- 
ciation has been phenomenal. They have 
saved thousands of dollars, not alone to the 
members, but to the public, by protecting the 
honest ])(M)ph' from the dishonest. Further 
than this twenty per cent the reduction of 
freight rates in the State of Illinois, which 
amounts to about $20,000,000 to the people 
of the State, was Ijrought about mainly by 
the \inited efforts of the local and state 
associations. 

MOLINE CLUB. 

Oi'ganized December 9, 1895, its object 
being for the advancement of social inter- 
course among its members and to promote 
the civic, business and industrial interests of 
the City of Moline. The membership con- 
sists of three classes: Resident, non-resident 
and honorary. The resident membenship 
being limited to three hundred members. 
Any male eighteen years of age or over, living 
within the City of Moline, shall be eligible to 
resident membership. Any male adult whose 
residence is without the limits of Moline .shall 
be eligible to non-resident membershi]i. Any 
person of public distinction shall lie eligible 
to honorary membership. The non-resident 
and honorary members shall enjoy all the 
privileges of the Club, except of those voting 
or holding ofifice. The annual meetings of 
the Club are held on the se('ond Tuesday in 
May of eaeh year, at 9 P. M. The officers of 
the Club are jiresident, first and second vice- 
jiresidents, a secretary and treasiu'er. The 
various committees are the finance, member- 
shi]). house and grounds, entertainment. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



press, audit inti. ami c'wlc iiiipi'DXcment coin- 
mittpo til further tho civic, Imsiness and 
industrial interests of tli(> City of Moline. 
Tlic ladies and minoi's iif every nieinher's 
family aic entitled to the privileges of the 
('lull. -No liipior of an)- kind shall he allowed 
in the iduh house, or on its premises, nor shall 
!2aml)lin,<? lie permitted. The first <ilhcei's 
were: ('. 11. Deere, presidents'. .\. liarnard, 
\ice-p|-esideiit : E. H. Sleifiht, secretary; C". F. 
Hemen way . treasurer. 

WOM.WS CI, 11! Ol' .MOl.IXK. 

The WOnnin's Cluh of .Moline was founded 
May 2;5, lUOo. Iiy Mrs. Frank dates Allen, of 
IMolinc, who called the first meetiufi', secured 
the place and speakers and [iresented a plan 
of or.tianization which was adojited. The 
(lull's memliership j^rew rapidly, nuttii'owing 
the cajtacity of successi\e meeting places, 
until it has fi\e hundred and twenty-five 
mendjers and holds its re,i;ular meetings in 
one of the largest church buildings in Moline 
— the Fir.st Congregational. 

The object of the Club, as stated by its 
constitution, "shall be to foster the interest 
of its mendiers in literary, scientific, musical, 
historical, and other topics of \'ital import- 
ance; to jiromote cultiu'e and cordial personal 
relations among «'omen. and to contribute to 
the welfare of the community." .\ny wonuin 
living in Moline^ or viciidty is eligible to 
meml)ershi[i in the Club. It has, conse- 
(juently, numy mendjers who live, in Rock 
Island, Davenport or the sm.aller towns 
nearby. Monthly meetings are held from 
October to ^lay imdusive. At tliese, reports 
of the departmental work are gi\'en, a ]iro- 
gram, consisting of music and the discussion 
of some live subject by an authority upon it, 
is presented and a short social hour follows. 

The Club has several departments: Tlie 
nuisic departmeiil, formeil by the absoi-plion 
of the Moline P>eetlun'en Club, |iro\'ides 
music for each regular meeting and one or 
two I'ecitals each season. The |ihilanthr<i|iic 



department, formed by the absorption of the 
Moline Associated Charities, sujiports the 
Moline police matron, ami City missionary, 
and ]iro\ides for most of the rebel woi'k done 
for the poor of I he cit \'. 

The ci\ ii's department encourages I he 
(deaning and beautifying of lots, streets and 
alleys, the opening of p.ai'ks. the abatement 
<if nuisances, and unsanitary conditions and 
the establishment of ]iublic play groiuids. 

The department of |iui'e f 1 and domestic 

economy aims to secuic the intelligent en- 
forcement of the ])ure tood laws. 

The art and literature clepartnient conducts 
a study class which meets fortnightly. 

Th(> legislati\-e department keeps the Club 
in touch with legislation of interest to its 
mendjers, especially that which effects wcmien 
and children. 

THK MO LINK YOCXC .Mi:.\"S 

CHR1STL\N ASSOCIATIO.X. 

The Moline "^'oung Glen's (.'hristian Ass i- 
ciation was oi'ganizeil February 10, ISS,). 
At that time the old rink was secured as 
tem])orary cpnu'ters ami an etficient woid< 
carried on for se\'eral years. During the 
years of l.SS.S and ISSl) a binlding fnml was 
raised and a new structure erected \\lii<'h 
continued to be the home of the Association 
until destroyed some years later by fire. 

On Janvuiry 1, 1903, the Association mo\'ed 
into the present quarters, where a steadily 
growin,g work has been nnuntain(>d in the 
\arious departments, and whose spacious. 
well lighted rooms have become the home of 
the young men of Moline in a \-ery special 
way. The Associatiiui is not alone his home, 
but as well his schoid roiun. his play giviun 1. 
and his |)lace of entertainment and Christian 
culture. 

In the inght school conducted by t'c 
.Association are taught all t!ie com n n 
branches, such as aritlimetic algebi-a, pen- 
nninship, spelling and gi'amme;', als i I'.nglis i 
for Swedes and (!i'e(d-;s, in b( t h elementai\" 



172 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



and advanced courses. Other courses in 
mechanical and architectural drawing, elec- 
tricity, telegraj^hy. bookkeeping, commercial 
law, and vocal music have been taught 
in the night school. In connection with 
the educational department a debating so- 
ciety is conducted, in winch young 
men are trained in the art ol' pul)]ic 
speaking. 

A physical department with well ecpuppcd 
gymnasium and e.xjiert ])hysical director is a 
second phase of the work, affording a place 
for physical development under wholesome 
Christian infhiences. This department is 
partici]5ated in by l)oth men and boys with 
great pleasure and ])rofit. The bath rooms 
which are used daily by large numbers of men 
are the finest in the city. Fully 6,000 baths 
are furnished annually to mendiers. No less 
than 35,000 visits are made to tlie rooms each 
vear. 



The religious ])hase of the work is wide in 
scope, covering a vast field of religious educa- 
tion. Bible classes are conducted, men's 
meetings with helpful addresses are held on 
Sunday afternoons and on week days meet- 
ings arc held in tlie \-arious shops of the city' 
at the noon liour, where a large number of 
men listen to addresses and music by the best 
talent obtainable. Tliere is also a corjis of 
workers, comjirising a male quartette and 
speakers, who visit the \-arious churches and 
missions in sui)m'ban towns to conduct 
religious ser\'ices. 

Diu'ing the years of its existence the Moline 
\'ouug Men's Christian Association has made 
a [dace for itself in the city of inestimable 
\-alue. Its aim has been to produce well 
i-ounded men in this and it has succeeded. 
The product of the Association has gone 
forth to raise the standards of moral li\-ing 
and to em'ich the world. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 173 



ROCK ISLAND COUNTY. 



In 1(S3() Coloiiol J);iveii))()i't entered other 

I'lHST IvXTlilIvS <)l' I, AND. sections and in l.s:« .loiin W. Spencer entered 

Colonel (ieorfi'c 1 ):i\('ii|i(irf and liussell the land on which the old Sc-hindler farm was 

I'"arnhani. on Octcdser 1!). ISiMl, eidered land situated. The year I s;5.") e.xceeded all previous 

— section two. seventeen North, two ^^'est - years as a land enterine; year. In 1S36 

which was the first land rejiistered in Piock coni]iaiiies were fornietl and lar^je amounts 

Island Coiintv. The south half of thi- of land entered fi}r tlicni in the names of 

iiround includinfi' that land east one mile iiidi\ idual cit izens. 

from the old Fair drounds \\as sold to .lonah 

,, ,, rr, ,1 I ,,. ,■ ,, ,> .. ,.t ILLINOIS AND .MISSISSI I'lM CANAL, 

li. ( ase. Ihe north hall ol the Davenjiort- 

I'^arnham land formed a pai'l of tlie ]iosses- si'mmary. 

siinis f)f the late liailey I)a\(>np(irt. Illinois and Mississippi C'lnal. lUinois. — 

()n ()ctolier 1!), LSI",), was also entered the The object of the inipi-oxcmeiit is lo furnish 

north half of section elcxcii. 1)\' \Villi;im T. a link in a iia\i,i;al'lc waterway from Lake 

l)i-aslier. ui^on a portiiui of which lauil Chip- .Miehit!;an to the Mississippi I{i^■er at the 

piainiock Cemetery is sit uatcil. mouth of I{(ick liixci'. llUnois. 

Colonel Davenport entei'cil the southern The canal has liecii Im-ated on the Hock 

pai't of section ele\-en in 1,S2!I-3(I. On this Island route. app|-o\-ed liy the Secretary of 

plat of around was ;iftei-w ai'ds hud nut the A\':n' OctoLo' L'T. INSS, as diicctcd in the act 

faUKHi-: "paper lown" of Hock Island City. of Coniiress of Auuust 11. 1 S.SS. It pi'oceeds 

Maniel \\'cl>ster is sai<l to ha\c held an from th(^ Illinois l^iver at its tireat Lend, one 

interest in this (then a paper townl. which and tlu-ee-(pi;ii'tei-> miles al)o\-c the town of 

he sold to Calel) Cushini; for .•>! ll.ttlH!. The Hennepin, Illinois; iheiice \ ia Hnreaii Creek 

town plat extended from 1 linuledine's south \'alley and o\'ei- the summit to Itock Kivei' 

line, and the south line of ( 'hippiannock at the niouf h of ( ii-een IJixci : Ihem-e hy slack 

Cemeter\-. south to Rock i!i\-er, and fidui water in Hock Hi\cr .■ind a canal around the 

the Milan road t hree-(pun-ters of a mile lower rajiids of the ii\-ei- at Milan to the 

cast. Mis,sissippi Hi\er at the mouth of Hock Hiver. 

l)a\-eni>ort and L'arnham also entei'ed at The canal is to he at least eiuht\- feet w-ide 

the same lime the fractional section thntx- at the watei- sui-face, se\('n feet deep, and 

fonr, eighteen north, two west, south of the with locks <uie hinidre;l and se\'etLty feet lonu; 

Indian i^otuidary line. This phat is tiow Laid and thirty-five feet width of lock chamber. 

(Hit in city lots. Addin,u- \^'illiatn Carr, who capable of passing barucs carrying six hundred 

entered land here in October, LSi'O, the list tons (maximum) freight. 

is complete as those registereil in the ye:ii-, .A report u|ion the location, with detailed 

or prior to that date. t'stimate of cost, of this i-an:il was snbmitte(l 



174 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



.liiiie iM. 1,S(K), anil is ])rinte<l in the Annual 
Kepoi-t of the Chief of Kn^ineers for 1S90. 
page 25S(}. 

The river and harbor act of September 19. 
iNilO. made the first appro])riation for the 
c-onstruetion of the canal, and directed -work 
to be begun by the construction of one of the 
locks and dams in Rock River. 

In accordance with this act work was begun 
in .Inly. 1S92, near the mouth of Rock River. 
on the construction of a canal around the 
lower rajiids of the river, and since that date 
has Ijeen ])rosecnted as rajiidly as the appro- 
priation of funds permitted. The survey 
work in locating the canal on the gromid and 
proceedings for accpiiring title to the right of 
way have been comj)leted. anil the canal has 
been definitely located on the ground througli- 
out its entire extent. 

The river and harbor act of ]\Iarcli i?. 1905. 
authorizes the Secretarj- of War, in his dis- 
cretion, to con^struct a fixed dam with mov- 
able crest in Rock River, in lieu of the lock 
and dam at or near Sterling, Illinois, pro- 
^•ided for liy the approved project, the said 
dam with movable crest to be built from 
funds alreadj' appropriated or autluirized for 
the construction of the canal and to constitute 
a i)art of the project for its construction. 

The ri\-er and liarboi- act of .June 3. 1896. 
placed the work under the continuing con- 
tract system and limited the average amount 
of contract lialiility to he incurred in any one 
fiscal year to $4(K).()()0. There has been 
expended on this work to the close of the 
fiscal year ending June 30. 190S. $7,319,563.39. 

The result of this expenditure has been: 

First. The acquisition of the right of wa\' 
for four and one-half miles around the lower 
rapids of Rock River and the completion of 
four and one-half miles of canal there, in- 
volving the construction of four and one-half 
miles of earthwork, three locks, one railroad 
and two highway swing bridges, seven sluice- 
ways and gates, one arch cuh-ert, two dams 
1„392 feet long across the arms of Rock River, 



three lock-keepers' houses, one small office 
biiililing. a thorough riprapping of the canal 
luuiks (not included in the original estimates), 
and construction l>v contract of I\Ioline 
wagon bridge, at a cost of i?2o,000. which 
was not included in the original estimate. 

Second. The acquisition of right of way 
for the main line and navigable feeder, com- 
|iletion of all railway and high\va_v bridges, 
locks, cidverts. aqueducts; execution of all 
earthwork and completion of dam and con- 
trolling works at head of feeder; erection of 
fourteen houses and jiartial completion of 
twenty-five houses for overseers and lock 
tenders. 

The canal was filled witli water and 
formally opened to navigation October 24, 
1907. Operating force has been organized 
and since Januarj- 1, 1908, the work has been 
maintained under the indefinite appropria- 
tion for operating and care of canals and other 
works of navigation, the completion of con- 
struction work progressing at the same time. 

The entire work embraced in the original 
])rojeet for the canal, as modified b}' subse- 
quent projects and plans as the work has 
])rogressed, may be summarized as follows; 

Surveys and location upon the ground; 
acquisition of right of way and fencing; con- 
struction of — ninety-five and eight-tenths 
miles of earthwork; sixty-seven highway 
bridges; one farm bridge; three pontoon 
biridges; eight railroad bridges; nine aque- 
ducts; fifty-two culverts (increased to sixty- 
two); thirty-three locks; nine sluiceways and 
gates; three dams; nineteen houses (increased 
to thirty-nine); outlet to Rock River; new 
highway on mile sixteen; improvement of 
eight and five-tenths miles of Rock River; 
iMoline wagon bridge (not in original esti- 
mate). 

The work thus far completed may be sum- 
marized as follows: 

Surveys and location upon the ground; 
acquisition of right of way and fencing; con- 
structi(ui of-- ninetv-five and eight-tenths 



HISTORIC ROC K ISLAND C U N T Y 



175 



miles of eartliwiii'k : sixty-seven lii^liway 
liridfies: one farm liridiic: eiirht I'ailroail 
bridges; nine ac|nediicts : sixty-two cnhcrts; 
tliirty-three locks: tliiity-foui' sluice spates; 
three dams; foui'teen lioiises and pai't of 
twenty-five additional: new liiuliway on nnle 
sixteen: Moline wagon lii'idge: one ponloon 
bridge: part of dretlging in Rixd; Ri\-er: 
emergency gates, mile twenty-three. 

The work remaining to be done consists of 
completing t w■enty-fi^•e lionses. dred.ging in 
Rork River, and miscellani^ous work of revet- 
ment, liank protection and liiiishing. 

PIONEER DAYS ON Till'; MISSISSI IM'l. 

nv S. W. MC MASTKi;. 

The first steandjoat that landed at Fort 
Snelling. Minnesota, was the Virginia. Captain 
Crawford, in 1S23. .She was one hundred and 
eighteen feet long and twenty-two feet wide. 
At that early day the coin-eying of sn|)i)lies 
to the forts on the upper Mississippi was 
about all the ti'aflic there was. During the 
few years immediately foUowin.g the arrival 
of the A'irginia there was but one boat a year. 
The Neville came in 1S'_'4: tlie I'utnam in 
1 S'i.'i : the bawi'ence in ISL'tl: the I'ultoii in 
IN27: tlie l':cli])se in 1 S'JS. and the Uhudc 
Roxcr in I.S'iit. The Red Roxci-. Captain 
'!'lioc'hniort(m. m.-ule her fii'st appearance in 
the ( lalena tra<le in 1 S'.M). The master of this 
boat b\iilt and rommaiidetl the W'aii'ioi- in 
\S'.V2 ami pai't icipated in the lUack Hawk 
wai- at the battle of P>ad .\\. He always 
carried on his boat two foni'-ponndei's. His 
passenger cabin was a keelboat toweil along- 
side. He was a genial nuin and a gi'eat fa\- 
orite w ith all t he (dlicers at the forts. Captain 
Thoclimorton also built and connnanded a 
number <if other boats (.lui'ing liis long cai'eer 
as a steamljoat officer. The last craft he 
connnanded was a government Iwat. the 
Harnard, some time during the seventies. 

The steamers .losephine, Captain J. Clark: 
and the iMissom'i I'^ulton, Captain Cuh-er, wei-e 
in the St. IvOuis and Galena trade in 1.S2S and 



1S2!). In ls:?G the Missouri Fulton, Captain 
Orrin Snuth: and the Frontier, Captain Smith 
Harris, came up. The latter craft was Ituilt 
for the Ro(d<; River trade. The Palmyra. 
Captain Cole, also arrived bearing a ]>leasure 
party of some thirty ladies and gentlemen, 
and thei'e was the St, Peter, Captain Thoch- 
morton. with a ])arty of St. Louis ladies, and 
the Rolla, bringing a delegation of the Sioux 
Indians on their way l.)ack from Washington, 
where they had made a treaty by which the 
\alley of the St. Croix was opened to the 
whites. 

From 1S36 there were steamers passing up 
and down the river almost daily, taking su]i- 
])lies for the \-arious small towns below (ialena 
and Dubiique. The boats that were in the 
trade Ijetween Oalena and Fort Snelling in 
ls:?7 were the l-'almyra, l)ubu(pie, Gipsy, 
Pa\illion, iMnerald, Wyoming, Olive Rranch, 
Ariel, Heroine, Rolla, I'urlington, Galena and 
Irene, The lioats during that season were 
the Duliuque, Rolla, I'hiierald aud Heroine. 
The steamer Brazil in 1841 was sunk on the 
Rock Island rajiids. 

Hetween the lattei- ilate and 1.S47, a large 
nundier of boats wci'e engaged in the trade 
between St. l-ouis and Galena. .\m(mg them 
were the bme. Captain l,(d^)\' |)oilge: St. 
Croix. Ca])tain Hiram Rei'sie: W'ai' ivigle 
Ca]itain Smith Hai'i'is: h'alcon. C.-iptain 1.. 
Morehouse: Rock Ri\cr, Count .\. ilarasky; 
Monona, Captain 1']. H. (de\un: and Iowa, 
Captain 1). l'>. Moi'ehouse. In ]S47 the Argo, 
Captain William Lodewicd'C, started as ;i 
regular pa(d<et between (lalena and Fort 
Snelling. Captain I.udewick was an uncle of 
Mrs. HaiJey and Mrs. P>oyle, of Roidc Island. 
In 1 84S he was in command of the Dr. Frank- 
lin with Ca].itain Russell Blakely. my oldtime 
friend, as clerk. The I'ranklin was the first 
Ijoat belonging to the Galena and Minnesota 
Packet Company. Most of the stockholders 
in this company were Galenans. This steam- 
er, the l''ranklin, was the nucleus fi'oiu which 
irrew the fleet of the (laleiui and St. Paul 



176 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



I'acket ('iiiii|i;iiiy. the fir.st urjiauized steaiii- 
lioat ('oiii|)aiiy (in the u])]ier Mississippi. A\liich 
ill after years became one of the most |)o\ver- 
fiil companies on the fjreat river, 1 (ringing mit 
from year to year as tiic trade increased, 
many new and finely liuilt boats. 

In 1S54, when the Chicago and Eock Island 
Railroad reached the river here a big excur- 
sion \Aas run. bringing some 1,200 eastern 
men, including many prominent statesmen 
and newspaper men, and the Minnesota 
I'acket Company met them at the Rock Island 
wharf with the steamers Ciolden Era, Captain 
Hiram liercie: (!. W. Sparhawk, Captain 1.. 
.Morehon.se: War Eagle, Captain Harris, and 
the Oalena, Captain I). R. ^lorehotise. On 
the.se magnificent packets about 1,000 of the 
excursionists took a free ride to St. Paul. 
During the tri)) the stage of water was good 
and at times the boats would be lashed 
together in pairs so that the passengers could 
pass from one to the other. Taken all 
together this affair was most far-reaching in 
its effect in bringing to the notice of promi- 
nent eastern men the vast possibilities of the 
north. This magnificent excursion has never 
been equalled in size and results in the history 
of the river. .\ vast tide of emigration soon 
afterward began setting westward. 

The Galena and Minnesota Packet Company 
was at the summit of its career from 1856 to 
1860. It had a tine and large fleet of lioats 
running at that time. Two daily lines of 
packets were run from (lalena, a daily from 
St. Louis to St. Paul, a daily to Rock Island 
and a daily between the upper and lower 
i-apids. 

In 1857 Caijtain Davidson organized anoth- 
er line of steamers to run on the upper river. 
This line ultimately was to swallow uj) and 
destroy in the end all others except the 
Diamond Jo Com])any. which still exists. 
This was known as the White Collar line. 
During this year the St. Louis and St. Paul 
steamboat men decided to inaugurate a daily 
serA-icc by running in rotation with the 



Camida. Captain James Ward: W. I,. Ewing. 
Cai)tain "M. Green: Denmark, Ca])tain Dick 
(iray; ^letropolitan, Caiitain T. ]?. Rhodes; 
Penil)ona, Captain Thomas H. Griffith; 
Northerner, Captain P. Alford. and Lucy 
May, Captain J. P. Rhodes. Along in the 
early sixties these different boats were united 
under the ownershi]) of a stock company, and 
the Henry Clay, Cajjtaiii Charles Stephenson, 
was taken in. There' were then more lioats 
on the Mississippi River ])lying to and from 
St. Paul than ever before or since, some 
ninety-five in all. I might give the names 
but that would require too much space. 

From 1856 to 1860 there was a very large 
amount of excursion travel coming from New 
Orleans and St. Louis to the cool shadj' 
retreats found around the lakes near St. Paul, 
many of the excursionists staj'ing two or 
three months. Often the boats would have 
their tqiper guards piled full of trunks. At 
night after eleven o'clock the cabin floors 
would 1)0 filled with cots. From eight to 
ten the colored cabin boys would get out 
their violins and dancing would be indulged 
in. With good boats, attentive and obliging 
officers and good table fare the time passed 
pleasantly. No hurry, no care, beautiful 
scenery all the way, jiarticularly along the 
banks of the U])per river. How many happy 
hours I have passed in this wa}' on the many 
trips I have taken since I first came west. 

The Keokuk and McClure line A\hicli jilierl 
between St. Louis and Keokuk, united with 
the Northern line. After Davidson had 
wrecked the lines on the iqqier river and after 
the death of John McClure this line was left 
to be sold. Da\-idson liought it, thus acquir- 
ing control of the old reliable Northern line 
and of all the steamljoat interests on the 
ri\er. The holders of a ma,iority of the stock 
in the Northern line applied for a receiver to 
manage the biisiness. Davidson was com- 
pelled to fight for his property. This took so 
long that the cost of the litigation left him 
with little of value. The business was ruined 



lllSTiih'lr HOCK ISl.ASh car \ TV 177 

his health was lu-okcii. ihc ciimiicrcc of the lint few iif llicsc ulil-linic t'l'ieiids are left. I 

Xdrth line was dcsti-ciyfil ami the I'cnuiaiits know of oiih' ('apiaiiis Heniiett of Moline. 

iif w hat liad liccii a uraml iii(lusti'\ in liiiildiiiii Caplaiii TlKinias liidni-d (if Kock Island. 

ii|i the ciiniiiierce of tlie iKifthwest was iki (.'aptaiii W . II. (ialihail of I )a\eiii;)Ort, and 

inure. ('a|)taiii .loliii Kluides of Savanna. 

from l.S4r) Id 1 S(i.') 1 was aclixdy cnLianed When I look hark oxer the sixty-nine years 

in hnsiness in (lalena. Later I l):niiiht wheat. I have passed on (he npper .Mississippi and 

Hour and corn aloiii;- the ri\-er in large amounts think of the niar\-elous changes that have 

and shipped to St . I. on is. In ronnecticni w il!i taken place in the great noi't h western country, 

my liusiness I necessarily lr;i\-eled often on I feel that, it x'ears were reckoned liy the 

the ri\-er between St. l-onis and St. I'aul, and chang<>s thai ha\e occni-red during this time, 

liecame -well acijuainted with many of the I might well lie two cent uries of age. 

pr(nuineul captains and clerks and other 

ol!ic<'rs of the boats. 1 was a stockholder in y.x ,i. w. J \wilt;\li. 

the Northern line, also a director and stock- The names of a lew of t he many magnificent 

holder in the (lalena and .Minnesota Packet steamers that were freipient callers at our 

Company. levee in the days liefore the civil war, when 

.\mong the river men 1 knew I desire to steandxiat liusiness was at it.s zenith, are still 

especially mention ('a|itain liussell Ulakeley. fresh in my nnnd. .Many of oin- citizens will 

of Galena and St. Paul, and say that I am remendx-r such boats as tlie Time and Tide, 

indebted to him foi- much of the information J^razil, Lady l'"ranklin. Montauk, Bonacord, 

presented, \\hich has been gleaned from a .Antliony W'.ayiU', 1 )annbe, Greek Slave, Julia 

pamphlet he read before the Minnesota His- Dean, Lamertine, (iolden La'a, Itaska, Grey 

torical society in 1,S!)S, He was a prominent Ivigle, VAWv .Afton. I'^.xcelsicjr. , lames ilcKee, 

citizen of St. Paul for many years. Two and Lnsern. All I hese boats were large, finely 

years ago he died. The title of the ]i,amijhlet e(pii|)|)ed side-wheelers, for a stern-wheeler in 

he «rote is " The History of t he l)isco\-ery of those times was sel lom seen. Boats were 

the Mi.ssissippi Piiver and the .\dvent of constructed in a nninner to best take caro of 

Commerce in Minnesota." the business demands, l^acli boat was [ire- 

Hefore closing this sketch of steamb lat ing jiared to carry a large amount of freight. an<l 
mi the u|iper ri\er in thecildeii times I wdidd so arranged .also as to .accommoilate corn- 
mention a few of the men 1 knew lust. fortably two hundred and three liundred 
Among them were Caiit.'im Orrin Smit h of t!ie ])assengers. .\ii hotel in any city surpiassed 
Brazil and Xomonee, Captain S. 1). Harris of their bill of fare. Their tables were furnished 
the V.'ar I'^agle and Gray Ivigle. Captain with the best that the markets could afford, 
Hiram Bersie of the St. Ci'oix, Golden I'a'a and and serveil in a mannei- unexcelled. 
Northern Light, Captain W . 11. (labbart of Steamboat ing fifty years ago was attended 
the Su(d\er State, Captain James Ward of the with many dilllcull ies, chief among tt'hich 
Metropiditan, and Captains Thomas Buford, was the lower rapids. There it was that 
T. B. Rhodes and John W. Rhodes. Amon.g through the major part of the floating season 
the clerks was Daniel \. Daw ley. who filled all freight and passengers had to be trans- 
this ]TOsition for oxqy fift\' years (I knew him ferred over and around the portage. Each 
first in 1838 as clerk on an Ohio i{i\-ei- boat. luiat's cargo had to be removed and placed 
the W. W. Wells, and afterward in that on .great litters or flat boats, each one cover- 
position on the Sucker State); George R. ing about one-half an acre of river, so to 
.Meh'ille, Robert Meh'ille and Geor.ce C. P>rish. speak. These wcic towed o\cr the rapiils. 



178 



HISTORIC ROC K ISLAND COUNTY 



anil then the .u'dods were i-e])hieed al)i)aixl the 
boat on which tliev lielonfjeil. Then the 
steamer would i)roeeed on her journey. These 
were vexatious delays and attended by great 
ex)iense ;uul much labor. 

The i)ilots on the river in those days were 
men who had the chart of the river and the 
(■(uirse of the channel anil the numerous 
difficult ero.ssings. the shoals, hidden rocks 
and other obstructions which lay in their 
bath, in their heads. It required years of 
constant practice and diligent study and 
close observation. To attain the vast and 
important knowledge they must know- the 
path on the darkest and stormiest night as 
well as in the light of day. 

How different the condition of today. The 
lower rapids ha\'e been shot out — with a great 
stone wall that forms the outer bank of a ship 
canal, through which steamers pass with their 
cargo undisturbed. The reefs, sandbars, 
snags and (jther obstructions have been 
removed, the channel deepened and widened 
where required, stone piers and buoys in the 
river. ])rovided to mark the course of the 
channel by day. with lights in vast numljers 
to show the way by night. The government 
has ox)iended vast sums of money in the past 
years to improve na\'igatioii and encourage 
coiumerce on oiu' western rivers. 

ANKX'r 'ro nn I'.i! \a\ ii;a-iii)\. 

The office of the (iovernment engineer in 
control of the Government improvement along 
the Mississippi, from the iTiouth of the Mis- 
souri River to St. Paul, together with a 
number of adjacent natural artificial water- 
ways, is located in Rock Island. Through 
its annual api:>roijriations, aljout -I.SOO.OOO are 
spent in the interests of improved navigation 
in t lie district indicated. 

The first Governiuent engineer's office 
established for the imjirovement of the upper 
river was located in 1 )a\-enpoi-t , in fsfifi. and 
was in charge of (ieneral .lames H. U'ilson. 
The office was oriaimdlv intended to c<uitrol 



oidy the impro\ement of the Rock Island 
rapids. General AMlson was transferred to 
Keokuk, and the work of building the canal 
around the rapids there was placed in his 
charge. The Davenport office was left under 
Major C. ,1. Allen, who, about two years after 
it was originally established, removed it to 
Rock Island, quarters being taken in the 
Skinner Block over the reo])le's Xatioiial 
bank. 

In 1870 Colonel John Macomb was placed 
at the head of the offices, and under him they 
were removed to the building at the north- 
east corner of Second Avenue and Nineteenth 
Street. Colonel F. V. Farquhar took charge 
in 1877, and under his direction, the year 
following, the general survey of the river 
made from the mouth of the Missouri to St. 
Paul was begun, from which a general line of 
improvement for the whole distance was later 
mapped out. 

Colonel A. Mackenzie came (ui in 1S79 and 
the office was under his management for a 
period of fifteen years. In \S.'M qiuirters 
were taken on the fourth floor of the new 
Mitchell and I.ynde Building. Major Mac- 
kenj^ie continued in charge until his ]iromo- 
tion to assistant chief engineer at Washington. 
Colonel W. R. King, his successor, died aftei- 
a year's residence in the city, and Major C. 
McD. Townsend took charge in May. 189<S. 
The present tpiarters, on the second and third 
floors of the federal building, at the corner of 
Second Avenue and Sixteenth Street, were 
taken i)ossessif)ii oi January 9, 1S9(). 

Colonel James L. T,usk assummed charge 
in April, 1903. and was succeeded by Colonel 
Charles S. Riche in Ajiril. 190"). and who is 
still in general charge. Colonel Charles W . 
Durham, first assistant engineer since 1871: 
James D. DuShane, assistant engineer; \^'. A. 
Thompson, assistant engineer; Samuel Kd- 
wards, assistant engineer; .lames McElherne. 
assistant engineer; Montgomery Meigs, a.ssist- 
ant engineer; A. L. Richards, assistant engi- 
neer; C. P. Comegys, auditor. 



// / N T () R I C RO C K I N L A .V D CO U N T Y 179 



1 lie w (irkuiii' phiiits r'diisist (it twii li(iat>, ii"\\ in |ir(ici'ss nf const riii't iciii. The |hi|iu- 

ilrcdncs, siiai;' liuats. hariics, (liiiii|i l)iiats. latioii of the hospital is now 1 ..")()( ). 

ipiartei' Imats. (iffice boats, eiii|iIoyii|i;' o\'er 'J'hc liospital .iiroiiiids consist of li\-e Iniiiilred 

one thousand men duriiiR' th(> win-kinfi' season. and sixty acres, one hun(h-ed .'icres of w hieli 

are on the liills ininieiliai el\- snrronndin"' the 

II.I.JXOIS WKSTKKX IIOSI'ITAI. \i)\{ ■ ,-, ,■ ■ .■ , i^, , ,. , 

in.-tit ntion. |iro\ idniu a liea lli\- location tree 

THE INSANE. ,. ,, • , ,., ,. .. \ 

troin att inalaiaa amt attor(tiiif; a niagnmceiit 

n'ATKRTOW.X. ILLINOIS. outhioiv Ul)on tlie .Mississippi A'ailev. The 

Tlie llliuoi.s Western Hospital For the Insane farm and ".ank'n are in the liottoms to the 

was established by an act of tlie Legishiture sonth and east of tlie inst il nt ion, the farm 

appro\ed May 22, lsy5, by which act the buildings beiiig abont ;i hah' mile from the 

usual boai'd of three trustees was created and institution pi-oper. Access to the lios[.iital is 

$l()(),Ot)0 ap])roi)riated for the construction, furnished b\- a switch from the Chicaud, 

fnrnishin.c; and maintemince. Hurlinstou and (^uiucy, which follows the 

After considering various propositions, the south line of the farm, the switch ruuiung to 

trustees finally selected a site near the \illage the to|i of the hill, 

of Watertown, in Ivock Island County, on an I'ireproof consti-uction has been adopted in 
elevation aliout a ([uarter of a mile fi-om the all of the lar,n(" buildings which are con- 
Mississippi River and li\-e miles above stnieted of lirick (jr stime. 
Moline. Tn their primiti\e condition, the grounds 
Tlie corner stone was laid September 5, surrounding the buildings were wry ii-rcgular 

1896, Governor Altgeld delivering the dedi- and tlie s((il was of such acharacter that each 
catorv address. Owing to the unfavorable raiii caused considerable damage. These 
weather, the insolvency of the contractors, natural dilliculties have in a lai-ge measure 
and an inadecpiate appropriation, the work been overcome and the inst it ut inn is now well 
proceeded slowly and when, on March IS, pi'o\ided wit h conci-el e w:dks, macadam roads 

1897, the new trustees were .-ippointed, they and c.'uisiderable has been done l.iwanls 
found the buildings incomplete. With addi- beautifying tlie grcuinds. This h.-is (uil\- been 
ti(nial appropriations granted by the begis- acc.implisheil, howmcr, b\' ino\ing at least 
latnre, they were enabl(>d to resume opera- .")(), (100 cubic yards of earth, tilling u|i many 
tions and on -May l(i, ISiKS, the From w.-irds deep ra\-iiies, and b\- the exercise of constant 
were ready lor occupancy and three hundred xigilence to prevent washing by i-aiii. 

and thirty-si-\ [latients w ere receix'eil from t he .Although within easy distance of the 

Jacksonville Hospital. In the Spring of bSOtI .Mississippi Ri\-er, the inst it ul i(jii has its own 

other wards were complete! ;ind .-iddit i(Uial wells fi-oiii whii.di it ilraws an abundant supph- 

|iatieiits received from .lacksonx ille, l^lgin of |iure water. .\ sew;ige plant has been 

and. Dunning. Since that timi' there has constructed into which entei-s the sewage 

been constructed the Annex, in;de ;iiid female from the entire institution. In this sewage 

inlii'inaries, [larole ward, tubercular cottages, box all solid imitter is destroyed by a natural 

a chapel, a large amusement hall, carpenter process and nothing pass(\s out except a 

shop, male and female dormitories for em- stream of clear odorh-ss watei- which finds its 

|)loyes and dormitory on the farm for patients. way to the ri\-er. 

-A fair ground of twelve acres has been The institution is well ecpuppeil ;md c(mlil 

enclosed and the necessary buildings erected carry on its e.xistance in ,'i large measure 

to carry on an annual fair. .A pathological independent of the outside woidd. ha\ing its 

and hydratic building .ami industri.'d h.-dl .-iie own electric light and ste.iui pl.ant, in addition 



ISO 



// / .s' T ONI C ROCK I SL A N D CO U N T Y 



to the water sii|i|ily and sewage system, its 
own carix-nter shop, machine shop, store 
l)uiUliiifi-. hiundry and refrigerating i)hiiit. 
printing ollice. tin shop and garment factory. 
Electricit>- is used entirely for light and 
power and llir hnildings are heated with the 
exlianst steam. 

Thi' site, valned at $40,000, was paid for 
I IV the citizens of Rock Island County, one- 
liair in subscriptions and one-half by the sale 
of C'oimty bonds. Though somewhat in- 
accessible, the fact that the institution has 
never had a case of malarial or typhoid fever, 
more than compensates. 

The board of trustees are F. W. Gould, 
l)resident, Moline, Illinois; Allan M. Clement, 
("hicago, Illinois; and William Trembor, Free- 
port, Illinois. Doctor W. E. Taylor, of 
Monmouth, was elected superintendent in 
January, 1897, and has continued in charge 
of the in.stitution since that time. 

KOCK ISLAND COUNTY INFIRMARY 
AND POOR HOUSE. 

In the early days the county poor were 
boarded out in various places, but the county 
ill about 18.50 or 1852 purchased the old 
Hinnah Wells farm, which was located at the 
I urn of the old Camden Mills road, about half 
a mile noi'th of the wagon bridge, across the 
Kociv l\i\-('i-. On this farm was a long two- 
stor\- frame house, which was made oin- first 
County Poor House. November 20, 1860, 
Rock Island County purchased the farm of 
James M. Smith, near Coal \'alley, for a con- 
sideration of $3,000. Mr. Frederick Weyer- 
haeuser, who then lived in Coal A'alley, built 
the first jioor house on this [iroperty. 

The first time it was erected it was forty 
by si.xty feet, though since its destruction by- 
fire. December 2'.). 1902. a new Iniilding of 
brick, fifty-eight b\- one hmidred feet, and 
four stories high has taken its place. The 
new strticture was completod in 1903 at a cost 
of $20,000. 



William S. Bailey was appointed steward 
of the poor farm September, 1860. At that 
time the infirmary contained but eighteen 
inmates. Mr. Pailey's salary at that time 
was four hiuidred dollars per year. By 1869 
his salary had been increased to SI, 000 per 
3'ear, the number of inmates having vastly 
increased by that time. Fxcejiting the year 
1869 Mr. Bailey was superintendent of the 
infirmary until 1881, when he was succeederl 
Ijv Mr. A. Buttman. who served three years. 
Following Mr. P>utlmau came Mr. James 
Robertson, who served two years, then Mr. 
W. H. H. Dow, who served eleven years. 
December 15, 1897, Mr. John C. Swank was 
appointed superintendent, and lie has since 
officiated in that capacity. 

' CHURCHES. 



FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH. 

The first class of which there is any record, 
and which became the nucleus of the church, 
was organized Deceml)er 6, 1836. At an 
earlier date Rock Island, or as then known, 
Stephenson, was recognized as within the 
bounds of the Illinois Conference, which at 
that time covered the entire state. Services 
were occasionally held at an earlier dale tlian 
above mentioned, Peter Cartwright being 
jiresiding elder of a large territory. This 
noted pioneer preacher was a jjower in early 
^lethodism. His autibiography is of thrilling 
interest. The names of those forming the 
first class are as follows: Michael Hartzell, 
class leader; Jane ]3rashar, Pera Vandruff, 
Nancy Trickell, Joliii Tindall, John Spencer, 
Elizabeth Saiiford, Lucy Bardwell, Ann Tin- 
dall, Nancy Hartzell, Eliza Spencer, John 
Sanford, Hanna Pendleton, John Tuttle, Mary- 
Butler, Esther Morris, Abigail Curtis, Mary 
McLaughlin, John Metzgar, Elizabeth Van- 
druff, Amos ^loore, Leali J5rashar, William 
T. Brashar, Catherine Vandruff, Nancy \^'ells, 
Morgan Ferguson and Thomas l^iittinnham . 



* ^ i;^ 







-1- 



■A 



r. 

3 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNT V ISl 



The only sur\-iving nienilK>r al the jiresent The first conference at Rork Ishuid was held 

t'inie is Xancy Hailzcll, widow of the late in this church the same year, nishop Janes 

Michael Hartzell, and uiollicr of .losepli |iresidin£r. The dedication diil imt take place 

Hartzell, bishop of Africa, who for a nnnilier until Ajiril 20. IS.'jti. when its entire indebted- 

of years has been acconiplishiiii; a wonderful uess was ]ir(jvided for. 

work on that c(uitinent. On the evening of Deceinbei' •">. l.S.l."). four 

During the fornuiti\'e period of the cliurcli nionths Ijel'ore the de(lic,ii i m, a supper was 

it liad no place of woi'ship of its own. In its served in the basenieul nf the chui-ch. by the 

lieginning the society met a( the home of .). W' ladies, at mie dollar pei' plate, and six hundred 

S]3encer. This \vas a log house that stood and fifty dollars \\:is realized. It was spoken 

near Seventh Avenue and Xiiu'UH'ulh Street. of as tlie largest festi\al e\-er held in the city. 

There Methodist jireachers always' found a The ferry boal ran free and people I'ame 

cordial welcome. Without disparagement to from ])aveupoi-t. Moline and <itlier adjacent 

otliers it may safely be said that Mr. and Mrs. towns, while the good .Mclhodisls kept open 

S|)encer stood spons(n's for (he church: a house for all. 

relation that they woi'thily maintained dur- A new parsonage was l)uilt adjoining the 

ing the renuiining period of t heii- lives, .\liout new church in ]S'>i\. The Holbrocd-; hell, 

the year ISoG a brick school house was erected «'hich still failhfnlly calls to the several 

iu I'nion Scjmire, now known as Spencer ser\'ices of t he churcii. was pm-chased in 1869, 

S(puu-e. and Methodist sel■^•ices were held in at a cost ol' SI, ■_'()(!. l!e\-ei-end liichard 

it. In bS4l^ ])reparati(ins were begim for tlu' Haney w as pasior. 1 n 1 ,s7i)-7' . midei- Reverend 

building of a ch\u-ch ti) occujiy 'tlu' northwest J. 11. Rhea, ihe church was tlioroughly re- 

cornei' of the same Squar(>; a site set apart by paireil, an alc()\-e built iu the i-ear of the 

llie then i)roi)rietors for that pui'pose. The ])ulpit fui- 1 he occup,'iiH'\' of a, new pipe organ, 

clinrch ^\'as fiinsheii in the year 1N44, nudei' the whole expense being abmit $8,00(1, which 

the pastorate of Reverend Isaac Searli-s. aniounl u.as fully met at the time of reopen- 

This was a brick Ijuildin.u, without (U'mimeu- in.u, on wliich occassion l)o( loi' \']. (). Haven, 

tatiim, built at a cost of about SbOOO. It afterwards bishop. pr(.'acheil. 

was dedicated iu Decembei' of the ye.ir of its ^die Central Illinois Conference con\-ened, 

ccunplelion. it renudned the honu' of the iov the secmid time at i\ock Island, in bS(i4, 

church for eleven years, until the erection of J!ish<ip Scott jiresided. \t this time Ihe war 

a nuicli more commodius and imposing of the rebellion \\;is being fought to a finish; 

structure, on the site of the present church. the second election of .\brahani Lincoln was 

The conference of 184;! nuide Ro(d< Island a pending. It can Irnthfully lie stated that of 

station, and Reverend .\ndrew Coleman was the 2,299 soldiers whi(4i went out from this 

appointed pastor. During the pastoi'ate of countv this church sent her full (piota. 

Picverend G. Ij. S. Stuff, 1 8r)0- bS,') 1 . the lirst Bishoi)s Simps(m, \'e<.-k and bowman, at 

parsonage was built; a brick buihiing s'ill different times, occupied (he pulpit of this 

occupied as a residence, on Xiiu'teenI h S( reel clini'ch, as did Doctm- Williain Jbitler. wlio 

just north of Fifth Avenue. This house when told of his W(uidei'ful expeiaences in .Mexico 

built was in a field belonging to .Mi'. Spencei-. and India. 

The second church, as abo\'e relened to. was The third confei'en<'e lichi iu Roid\ Island 

undertaken during the pastorate of {{exocnd was in bss;!, at the close of the ])asfora(e of 

\\'illiam Tasker, and finished in bs.")."i, I{e\erend .1. S. ^b'Coid. Rislmp .\iidrews 

Rex'erend S. (_l. J. Worthingiiui heing i)resided. His sen i. picacheil (ui Sunday 

past(n'. moi'ning at the opera Icuise. was one of 



IS'2 



// / S T R I C RU C K ISLAND CO U N T V 



exceeding power and Ijeantj' of diction. At 
this conference Chajilain AIc('al)e was present, 
delighting all l)y his beautiful rendering of 
Christian song. Reverend J-!. (<. I'earce 
followed Doctor McCord as pastor. 

The personnel of the laity of the church is 
worthy of mention, but space forbiils the 
naming of more than on(>. wlio was notably 
zealous and full of good works. \-iz: Edward 
W. Spencer. His liirth antetlateil the organ- 
ization of the church by two years. He was 
nurtured in a Christian home and at the altars 
of the church. He did nut disregard the 
obligations thus inipose<l ujion him. For 
nearly a third of a century he was Sunday 
school superintendent and choir leader. He 
organized and largely maintained by untiring 
feervice.s the young ])eoiile's and children's 
meetings, while other services of the church 
were a special care. 

Others who went out from this chui'ch and 
entered tlie ministry of the Methodist -Eijis- 
copal Church were William B. Frizzell, J. W. 
Frizzell and \A'illiam A. Spem'(>r. The last 
named after an honored career has passed on 
to the other shore. 

The semi-centennial jubilee of the church 
was held April 2-5 inclusive, INST, dui-ing the 
pastorate of Reverend G. J. Lucky. It was 
an occasion of great interest, and sjiiritual 
l)rofit to the church. The principal addresses 
made at that time fortunately are ))reserved 
in book form, entitled. Fifty Years of Metho- 
dism in Rock Island. There is no relation in 
life outside of the family, so close and tender 
as that experienced in the church, that which 
constitutes Christian fellowsliip. 

Reverend (i. W. Cue followed Re\-erend 
l.uckey in the pastorate. Not later than the 
second year as pastoi-, he began to whisper 
in the ear of one here and there that the 
proper thing to do was to build a. new church. 
It was not a little thing to undertake, and, 
furthermore, xery many seenied ipiite satis- 
fied to continue to worship in the old sanc- 
tuary, so long their s|)irifual home: as at its 



altars many have been born into the kingdom 
of their Lord and Savior; while from its doors 
loved ones had been borne to their last resting 
place. Hallowed associations made it prec- 
ious. Ha^-ing put his hand to the work, 
Re\erend Gue was not one to turn back. He 
was persistent and continually at it, two very 
important elements in the accomplishment of 
a purpose. To write the history of this 
enterprise is more than now can be under- 
taken. Consumate thought sanctified by 
jjrayer and the earnest effort of all the peojjle 
made possil)le tlie accomplishment of the 
work undertaken. The coi-ner stone of the 
edifice was laid September '-'l, LSS9; Bishop 
Ninde, by invitation, was ])resent and made 
the principal address. ^lany of the pastors 
of other churches in the city were jiresent and 
13artici]iated in the ser\-ice. A year and a 
month from the laying of the corner stone the 
church was dedicated, October 26, 1890. The 
long cherished hope had eventuated in ulti- 
mate fruition. The cost of the building was 
about $45,000, which amount was i:)rovided 
for previous to the dedication. At the end 
of four years as pastor Reverend Gue was 
transferred to Portland, Oregon. He has 
since, together with his estimable wife, passed 
to his final reward. 

Reverend F. W. Merrell succeeded Reverend 
Gue as pastor. He served the church faith- 
fully and well for five years, the memliership 
of the church being largely increased dm-ing 
that ]ieriod. Near the close of his jiastorate, 
at the instance of Captain T. J. Robinson, 
who made the donation, a new pi]ie organ 
was placed in the chui-ch. This necessitated 
cpiite a change in the auditorium which, 
together with other impro-\-ements. made an 
expense of about $7,000. 

Reverend C. O. McCulloch succeeded Rex- 
erend Merrell as jjastor. His ser\-ice for a 
]ieriod of five years was fraught with gi-eaf 
l)lessing to the church. During the fourth 
}-ear of his ministry a new parsonage was 
l)uilt, at a cost of $4,000. To secure that 



// / ,S 7' O h' I C li U C K I S L A \ D C U N T Y ls;i 



I'lHST I !A IT I ST {'111 PvCli. 



aiiKnint. besides nearly as much more (if Sometimes the siiperiiiteiKh'iit ami teachers 

iiidelitedness liefore the work was undertaken, liavi> felt despondent, but the work has gone 

rciinired strenuous el'forl . I{e\-ereud .Me- lii'a\eiy on and it eertaiidy is beyond human 

Culloi-h, ho\\c\ci'. |iio\-e(l eipial to the task. I<en to measure the fjoocl that has been 

Al the eud of his fifth \'eai- he was appoiuted wroUii'ht. Surely 'mmI has been i;i-acious to 

t(} Maromb. his people. 

He\'ei'end \\. I!. W'iniams w :is the suceessoi' 
of |)ortor .McCuIlocli. .\n e\ent of no little 

interest occuri-ed ibn-|ii,i;- his tifth ye:u-. beiu.u' 'Idus church was or.uanized .luue 4. lSo7, at 

the oc<'asiou of the meeting of the board of the liouse of ]>emuel l.udden, which stood 

bishops, lastiiij; for the most part of a u(>ek. just east of the jireseut city bimits. near 

.\lso the same year the churidi w as beautifidly Sechler's carria.ue works, Thei-e were only 

frescoed. se\'eu meudiei-s at that time, \'va: Re\-erend 

The e(ud'ei-euc(^ that met foi- t he fourth time Titus Gillel, Zacli:u-iah ('o(d<, Barbara Cook, 
in Hock Island, September 11-lN, l!l(l7. Lemuel l.udden, Silah l.udden, Phoebe Skin- 
through its presidin.ii bisho]i, \\i\v\ Ci'anston. ner and Xancy Taylor, They selected Rev- 
t;a\e him the appoint ment to t he Rock Island ereiid Titus (lillet as pastor, .Meetings were 
charge for the se\'euth consecutive time. held in ])rivate houses, ami later in the Court 
This action which was in actcord with the House. ( )n June S, IN44. the"bri(d< school 
recpiest of the local cjuarterly conference for house," then standing mi 1 nion Square — 
his return, makes fiu'ther comment on his now Spencer S(iuare was |iurchased for 
pastorate unnecessary. S4."),.'^4 '4, and litt(>d as a place of worship. 

In 1906 the society purchased the adjoining The first real chm-ch building was erected in 

lot on the west, adding greatly to the sight- 1S4S, on the northeast corner of Third 

liness and ^alue of the cliurch jiroperty. Avenue and l-'ifteenth Street, where the 

.\s an auxiliary society, the first to be Memorial Christian Clnu-c4i iu)W stands, at a 

organized was the sewing society, in 1S4.'?, cost of S;^, .')()(). That buildiu.ii' was sold, and 

in many respects it has proven the better the ])resent edifice at the s(uithwest corner of 

half of the (dirndl. It \\(iuld be monumental the same streets was ei'ected in ]S7(), at a 

if the total of its gi\'ing and jiroviding C(.iuld cost of Sl.S.OOO. The jiarsonage on l-'ifteenth 

be shown. Other societies have added greatly Street, adjoining the church, was built in 

to the usefulness of the church. The INTO, at a cost of $2,2")(), and was presented 

Woman's Foreign -Missionary Society, organ- to tlie cliurcli .Inly ?A . IS?!), by Mi's. Zeriiiah 

ized in 1870; the Home Missionary Society, R. Hoyer. 

organized in \SKi; and tlie I^pworth League, Tlie church h.'is had a long and \aruMl 
with other minor organizations, are all work- history, having numljered in its meiiiliersliip 
iiig to the one end, the upbuilding of Christ's many of whom the city has been jiroud, and 
kingdom. The Sun(la\' school, the most who have gi^•en character and helpfulness to 
important arm of service, must not be o\('r- the entire community. The largest member- 
looked; indeed it is from this s(mrce. UKU'e ship at any time «as September 23, 1 !)()(), 
largely than any other, that the (diiirch when the total reached foiu- hundi'eil. 
recruits its membershiii, -As a distinctively- The church is entii'el\- free of delit, au.l all 
Methodist Sunday school it was organized in departments of the wdrk are in acti\e ami 
l<S4o. J. \^^ X'anSant being elected sniierin- successful oper,'il ion. The property is care- 
tendent. lu the years that h.-ive iuter\eni'd fully ke]jt by a board of ti\e trustees, and is 
much earnest effort has l)een put forth. all in first class (•(mdition. The organization 



184 



// / S r () RIV ROC K ISLAND C U- N T Y 



is in a thoroughly ]irosperous (•(uidition. and 
is doing an aggreswive \voi'l< in the cxangeliza- 
tion and Christian teaching of the com- 
munity. 

Harry W. Reed, Doctor of I'liilosophy, has 

been pastor of tlie church since May 1, 1902- 

ST. .].\MKS CATHOLIC CHT'RCH. 

Re\'erend J. C Alleniann came to Rock 
IsLind, Hlinois, in ]S5(), started to organize 
a church and began liiiilding in the Summer 
of 1851^ a stone church, the si/e being fort}' Ijy 
sixty-six feet, and dedicated it St. James 
Churcli, it laeing the first Catholic Churcli in 
Rock Island, .and Re^-ereiid .T. (1. .-\llemann 
being the first ])astor. 

Reverend J. (i. .^Uemann getting advancetl 
in years, in May, 1856, was succeeded by 
Reverend .John 1'. Donelan, he remaining as 
assistant to Reverend .lohn P. Donelan until 
1859, when Reverend .John P. Donelan was 
transferred to Rockford, Illinois. Reverend 
P. ,J. R. Mur])hy taking Reverend .John P. 
Donehin's jiarish here and remained jnistor 
until the Summer, of 1861, when he was 
appointed chaplain of the Fifty-eighth Illinois 
Regiment. Next came Reverend 1'. .1. Mc- 
Elherne, who succeeded Reverend I'. J. R. 
]\Iurphv. 

St. .James' congregation grew so large that 
Reverend V. J. McElherne began the building 
of the present St. Mary's Church, now 
occupied by the German Catholics. The 
building was begun in 186.'] and ccuiipleted in 
1865. Reverend P. T. ^McElherne remained 
as pastor until 1870, when Reverend J. P. 
Roles was appointed pastor. 

In, 1874 Reverend .1. P. Roles transferred 
St. Mary's Church to the German Catholic 
and bought the Presbyterian Church, corner 
Fourteenth Street and Second .\venue, and 
dedicated it St. Josejih's Church. In 1877 
Reverend J. P. Roles was transferred to 
Chicago, Illinois, and ReA-erend Thomas 
Mackin was a|)pointed to fill the A-acancy of 
Reverend J. P. Roles. 



He remained here until his death, which 
occurred February 22, 1904, when Reverend 
.1. Roach came here as tem])orary pastor 
until October, 1905. when Dean .1. .1. Quinn, 
from Chatswortii. Illinois, was appointed the 
])resciit jiastor. 

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

.Some time ])rior to 185.3, Reverend Louder- 
back held Ei)iscopal services in Rock Island; 
the first recorded vestry meeting being held 
at Trinity parish November 12. 185.3. The 
organization of Holy Trinit\- Church was 
effected about this ]ieriod. Among the orig- 
inal memljers were Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Harris, 
Mrs. Langley, Mrs. .loseph Brackett, Mrs. 
Goldsmith and Mr. Haih'y I)a\-en]K)rt. 

The fir.st chm-ch was finished June 11, 1857, 
at a cost of .'$2,000. The present chm-ch was 
completed January .30, 1870, at an original 
cost of $16,000. Reverend L. Goodall was 
elected first rector October 18, 18,54. Trinity 
Episcopal Church belongs to the Quincy 
diocese, and is one of the most representative 
of the Episcopal denomination in this state. 
Reverend Granville H. Sherwood succeeded 
Doctor Richard F. Sweet, deceased (see 
biogra])hy elsewhere), who was rectin' for 
twentj-seven years. 

Trinity Chajjel, at the northwest corner of 
Seventh Street and Fourth A\'enue. is a 
branch of this organization. 

THE UNITED PRESP.YTERIAN CHURCH 

The United Presbytei'ian Church of Rock 
Island, Illinois, was organized as an Associate 
Reformed Presbyterian Church, Jidy 1, 1854, 
by clirection of the second A. R. P. Presbytery 
of Illinois. 

The Reverend Matthew Rigger, together 
with Ruling Elders John Colins and William 
Haverfield, met in the seminary building, in 
the rear of the iMemorial Christian Church. 
The organization was effected by admitting 
into memberslii]) fourteen menil)ers from the 
A. R. P. Church, fi\-e members from the 



HISTORIC ROC K I S L A N D C O U A" T Y 



I S') 



A. I'. Clmrcli anil imc (Hi ]ii'(it'cssi(iii oF I'ailli, 
inakintr a total of I went \ iiiciiilxTs. ^I'hc first 
elders were Krskin McClelhui, .lames Toild 
and lliitih W'arnock. The eoiisi'i'egation re- 
ceived new iiieinliers e\er\' year except 1 S.")7 
and |S(')1. The Intal iinmliei- rei-ei\-eil finni 
July 1, 1S,")4, to .Inly 1, H'O-I, is five hnndred 
and fifty-four. The decrease kept pace with 
the increase for a niiniher of years. 

Tlie serx'ices wei'c held in the seminary 
huildin.i;' and in the Court House for the first 
six months. In the meantime, liy the hard 
woik and self-ilenial of the nctini; pastor, 
lie\erend .1. R. McCalister and the member- 
ship, a plain frame huildin,ti was hiiih on the 
site of the pi'esent church. This Ituildin.ii; \\,-is 
remo\ed in isr^i to tlie c<irner of I''ii'th 
Avenue and I^leventh Street, where it yet 
stands, doiiif^- serxdce for the <!erman Pres- 
byterians first, and now for the Swedish Free 
{''vangelical Church, 

The building was entered the first Sabliath 
of ,Iannai'\-, IS.").'), 'J'he ]iulpit furniture was 
not upliolstered, for the Reverend ,T. K, Mc- 
C.-dlistei-'s pulpit sofa was a nail keg with a 
boaril across it, while the pul|)it itself was a 
dry goods box, 'idie pews w ei'e ])Ianks l;iid 
acro.ss nail kegs or boxes. The lights were 
])lain tallow candles. iMost of the work on 
the building was done by tlie members, under 
the ilirection of Mr, .lames Todd, wlio is with 
us today, thoiigli his menibersliip has not 
been with us all these years. Hy degrees the 
pews were made, and grained by other mem- 
bers. They are still in use. Their l.iacks 
were not very high, and ^\ere anytliing but 
comfortalile. 

Reverend .1, R. McCalister cimtinued .as 
stated supply until .Inly 1. ISIJO. In the 
mean time tlie congregatimi of f )a\eiipoi-t 
was organi/.eil ,-ind he siipjilied both congi'e- 
gations, I'ifty-four persons vvere receixcil 
into the membisehip during this pastorate. 
.\mong them was .\. Conner, who .aftei'ward 
became a iniinstei', but was unable to c(mtinue 
ill the ininistr\' long on account of ill he.-dlh. 



following .Mr. ,Mc( 'allistei' was He\-erend 
W . II. .lefferes, who continued for (ifteen 
months. Then the congregation was without 
a regular pasloi- until .April, iSli:^, when 
Re\-ereiid Heniw Wallace was calleil anil 
continued until .\pi-il, 1N71. 

During the pastorate of Doctor Wallace 
there were seventy-lix'e persiuis receiviMl into 
membership, \'et the decrease seemed to be 
as great as the incrt^ase. on account of I'e- 
mo\als, 

.Viler .-inother season without a |iastor, 
Ivex'erend .1. .A. iie\uiolds was called hir full 
time ill .Inly of lN7"-. Thei-e were but tliirt\- 
ti\-e membei's to .again take up the work. 
There had been one hundred and fift\-eight 
persons received in tlie ei.tihteen yeais, 

.As tlie clinrch building was not \-ery in\it- 
in.g, there was an e.'fort m;iile t:i build a new 
church, so in the Spring of IS7H ti.e pi'esenl 
building was planned ami begun, but was net 
entirely fini.shed until 1S7(). by which time the 
membership had increased to seventy nieai- 
liers. The cost of the n(w\ clmich was SKl.- 
()()(), of which amount the people paid nearh' 
S7.(l()(l, The balance was from the board of 
church extension ;iiid outside help. 

.At the close of Doctor Reynold's pasfor.ate 
the membership was ninety. Immediately 
followin.g Docto]- iieynolds, Re\'erenil .i. II. 
J)own, Doctor of Divinity, took \\\) the work, 
continuing for llii'ee years, after which there 
was a season without a jiastoi-. In the .'-!iiin- 
mer of l.S,S9 Reverend T, H, McMichael. 
Doctor of Divinity, then a student, tilled the 
pulpiit, and in the Fall of iSSd Reverend II. 
C. Afarshall became stated snppl}- and con- 
tinued eight years. 

M.any of the members li\'ing in .Moliiie 
desired eifliei' then' letter to connecl witii 
some church there oi' tliat we gi\-e 1 1 em 
preaching, so a mission was started in I Ml."), 
which was afterward formed into ,i clinic ■. 
.May 14, FS9S;, with tw enty-se\cii inenibe s 
from the liock Island congregal i:ui, and be- 
c:illie indepiMideiil in l',)(ll. \\ the close of 



186 



HISTORIC BO C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



the Reverend H. C. Marshiill's ijastorate the 
membership was about one hunch-ed and 
thirty, counting tlic two fields, Moline and 
Rock Island. 

Again we were without a jjastor for a year, 
when in Sejjtendjer of 1898 the Reverend D. 
b. McNary became stated .svipply, devoting 
his time to the two congregations for a time, 
until Moline became independent. 

Of the original members, as far as is known, 
there are but two living. Mr. .James Tod<l 
and Mrs. Margaret Caughey, of Coal A'alley. 
Illinois, while J. M. I>ogan and wife of ^h(n- 
naouth, and Mr. .1. \\. .Johnston, of Los 
Angeles, California, were received in 18.55. 
There may be others we have lost track of. 

The following are those who have served 
as elders, the elders elect, and clerks of the 
session. 

Erskine McClellan, installed .July 1, Ls.54. 
withdrew Decemlier 7. b86.5; died .January, 
1904; James Todd, installed Julv 1, 18.54 
withdrew early in sixties; Hugh Warnock, 
installed July 1, 18.54, died May 12, 1898; 
Thomas McCall, installed August 17, 1864, 
died early in seventies; Samuel F. Cooke, 
installed March 20, 1867, withdrew January, 
1898, died December 13, 1898; Joseph Mc- 
Kee, Doctor of Medicine, March 18, 1877, 
withdrew July 9, 1888; James McConnell, 
installed March 18, 1877, died February 9, 
1881; Alex White, installed March, 1877, 
withdrew A])ril. 1878: Edwin B. McKown, 
installed No\ember 19, 1890, .Samuel H. 
Montgomery, installed November 19, 1890, 
withdrew May 14, 1898; James D. Warnock, 
installed November 19, 1890. 

Elders Elect — Charles E. J5ryan, James A. 
Weed, F. P. Lysinger, M. Bollman. 

Clerks of Session — Hugh Warnock. no date 
given, to July 1, 1870; Samuel V. Cooke, July 
1. 1870 to November 22. 1,S9(): Sanuiel H. 
^lontgomery, November 22. 1890 to May 14, 
1898; James I). Warnock. May 14. !.S9,S to 
the present time. 



l'].)on our I'oU was the name of one who has 
been ap])ointed to a ])osition that will bring 
to him national, yea. world wide faine. if he 
shall be permitted to cai'i'v out the work our 
go\-ernm('nt has ])laced in his hands. The 
work he has done for \'arious railroads the 
]iast twenty-five years bespeaks for him 
success. I refei- to Honorable John ]•'. 
\A'allace, Doctin' of haws, who was with us 
when the present chnrcli was being built, 
lb' lias l)een appointed eniiineer in charge of 
the Panama canal. 

An interesting item we wish to speak of is 
that the three succeeding generations of the 
first superintendent, Mr. Hugh Warnock, are 
re]3resented in our school today in J. D. 
Warnock, our treasurer; Miss Mildred War- 
nock, one of our teachers; and Dorothy and 
Margaret Soule, who are enrolled in our 
primary department. 

Our su]ierintendents since organization 
have been Hugh ^^'arnock, Reverend J. R. 
McCallister, Alexander White and E. B. 
Mclvown. Excepting about foiu- or five years 
Mr. Hugh Warnock served as superintendent 
for nearly thirty-five years. 

GERMAN E\'A.\(;EbICAl. LUTHERAN 
IMMANUELS CONGREGATION. 

RELIGIOUS TENETS. 

This body of Lutherans — as indeed the 
whole Missouri Synod, of which it is a part — 
takes a firm stand on the basis of the (,'hurch 
of the Reformation ; accepting the Scri]itures 
of the Old and New Testament, as being 
throughout the insjiired Word of tiod, and 
the only nde and standard of doctrin"e and 
life. It accepts, as a true and correct exhibi- 
tion of the doctrines of Scripture, the entire 
confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran 
Chiu'ch, as contained in. the Book of Concord 
of 1.580. Its central doctrine is: full atone- 
ment In' Christ, and justification l)y grace, 
through faith in Christ Jesus. Holding that 
two can not walk together except they be 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 187 



agreeil, it rcjecls allai- tVllow sliip, and prac- neillicr of the nicmbers was possessed of 

tices close coiniinuiiou. earthly i^oods. 

Holdiii.ii' lliat II ic ran ser\'e two masters, thio skcond church. 

il will not i-(M'ci\(' into \otin,ii nieinlierslii]) The rapid .arowth of the con,u:regation soon 

anv pei'son helonjiin.u' to an oatlilioiind secret necessitated a larger hnildin,!;. A nioi'e con- 

sociel\. llolilini;- that the col and (o lirinii; \eiiieiit location hciiii^ desiraMe. a new site 

up cliildren in the nurture and adnionilion of mi tlie corner of l'"iflli A\'eiiiie aii<l Twentielh 

I lu' hold, is still liiudin.a it has always ainieil Street was procured at the cost of S2, .■)()(). 

to estalilish a.nd maintain parocliial schools. This was in .March. 1 Sti."). I'lans were siil)- 

The affairs of the con.ure,a:al ion are man- mitted hy the .Messrs. Hiess and Sclilneter: 

ai;ed li\- the members, e\'ery male memlier of the contract was awardeil to Mr. Hartman. 

the aire of twenty-one years, ha\in,n' sIijikmI Tlie new cliiirch. forty by sixty, with an 

ll;e constit 111 ion. is entitled to a vote. Refi- annex twenty-three b\- thirty, to sei-\(' as 

ular sessions .-ire held the first Snnda\- of each dwelling and school, was dedicated in the 

month at ^-M V. M. One-third of the Fall of iNti('). the lieverend ( '. A. Mennicke 

membei's constitute a (pioriim. ^Majority olhciat in,i;. 

lilies. .\bseatees \\ai\e the pi'ivilege of thi-; thiuo ciiriicii. 

\dtinji. liy the grace of (.iod the conii'i ei;at ion 

Hi.STORrc.\L .SKETCH. e.\i)erieiiced a stead\' .urowth. and aii;iiii it 

hi tlie l)eginiiinK of lS5(j a, small number became necessary to ])ro\-ide more i-omn. .\ 

of Ijtitherans. foremost amon<; them Mr. .M. buildinu committee. consistiii<; of the boai'il 

Kur;^, ai)i)lied to the Missouri Synod for a of trustees and the Messrs. (". Haensjicn. W. 

faithful Lntheran ])astor to attend to their Schroether. J. Kirsch. J. Bruclimann. W. 

s|>iritiial wants. Jiy re(piest of Synod. Rev- Kiirth. ('. Schillinger, H. f.anj;e. H. J-iruiisw ii;. 

erend ('. A. T. Selle, of Crete. Illinois, iiivesti- C Schoede. with Teacher F^. Selle as secretary, 

gated mattei-s, and preached the first hntheran was a]ipoiiited in November, ISOa. Plans 

sermon in this section of the coimti-y. This were furnished by Messrs. Drack and Ixeriis. 

was April. IS.'il). On .luiie It), the congrega- The contract was let to Mr. Nic. .Iiihl. The 

tion organized with a memliershiii of se\-eii. following year, the old church was torn down 

Revereiul I''. .Mmer being diilv ctdled was tiiid the new one erected. This magnirn'enl 

ordained and installed .August :!1, by I{ever- building is a (lothic structure, sixty-two by 

end W. Mtieller. of Chicago. Having, as A-et. one Imndreil and two. snrmotmted by two 

no house of worship, ser\'ices were held in the spires one hundred and eight and one hundred 

old Second Presljyterian Church until the and, si\ty-t wo feet resi(ccti\el\- : seating capac- 

Summer of ISoT. when a building site was ity, 1.1)00; cost, iSl'o.ftOO. The interior is 

]iiirchased on the corner of Sixth A\enue and tastefully decorated with freizes and paint - 

Thirteenth Street. .A frame building on the itigs by Artist 11. \'oege. It was dedicate. I 

ground was remoileled for parsonage and I)ecenil)er '_'(). ISOG. by l{e\ereiid ('. .\- 

school. Mennicke. assisted by the Rex-erend Iv 1). 

•fill': Kii!s-|- cini;rn. Mennicke. Reverend .\. Hraiier. lie\-erend 

During the following Winter and Spring a Professor V. Streckfuss, Reverend Pr()fess(M- 

neat brick church was erected b\- .Mr. (ieoi'ge 1.. \\ essel. 

liiess. ciuitractor. It was deilicated on the ]'\ST()Hs. 

third Sunda\- after I'laster. Thou.uh the The first |>astor. Reverend I'. .Miner. ser\ e 1 

membership had \>y this lime increased to from .August. 1 So6. until .\iiunsl, IS.")?, when 

se\-eiiteen. yet it w;is ipiite :i \enture. .-is he accepteil a call lo (irafliui. Wisconsin. 



188 



HISTORIC ROC K I S L A N I) C U N T Y 



His successor, Reverend C. A. T. Selle, was 
installed in July, IS.IS. During his pastorate 
the congregation formally connected \\-ith the 
Missouri Synod. In 1861 he accepted a call 
as jirofessor of the Teachers Seminary at 
Fort Wayne, Indiana, later on at Addison, 
Illinois. He was succeeded by the present 
])astor. Reverend C. A. Mennicke. This 
eminent divine, a graduate of Concordia 
Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, arrived at 
Rock Island, May 14, 1861. He jjreached 
his first sermon on V\ hit Sunday and was 
ordained the ninth Sunday after Ti-inity. 
He is still serving faithfully, sharing the joys 
and sorrows of his flock. 

In 1880, his health being greatly inii)aired. 
he was granted a vacation for a trip to 
Gernniny. During his absence Reverend 
August Haensgen gratuituously served as 
pa.stor pro tvin. Upon his return he entered 
upon his duties witli renewed vigor. In 1S86 
his son. Reverend A. C. Mennicke, was in- 
stalled as assistant j^astor, serving in this 
capacity until April, 1892, when he accepted 
a call to Edford, Henry County, Illinois. In 
1893 Professor Reverend Selle, having re- 
signed his professorship, located at Rock 
Island and served as assistant pastor until 
March, 1898, when he resigned. Shortly 
afterward, while on a visit to Chicago, he 
departed this life; his remains were brought 
to Rock Island and interred in the Lutheran 
Cemeterj-. 

Since July 31. 1898, Reverend E. I). Men- 
nicke, second son of Reverend C. A. 
^lennicke is ably filling the office of assistant 
[Kistor. 

SCHOOLS. 

The parish scIkxjI is as old as the congre- 
gation. It was taught by the pastors until 
the Summer of 1862. when Mr. F. Moeller was 
installed as teacher. He held this position 
for forty years, resigning in 19(12. He was 
succeeded by Mr. I. Kaspar. 

In 1856 a second teacher was added in the 
l)erson of "Mr. H. Jirakesuehler; he was fol- 



lowed successi\-ely by the Messrs. Trcnhold, 
Kleinsteuber and Doescher. The latter re- 
signed in 1873. 

In 1866 a third teacher, Mr. A. Schoeverling, 
was called. In 1S69 he was succeeded by 
Mr. E. Selle, a giftecl educator, who is still in 
active service. 

The schools were cari'lcil on separately, 
one on Twentieth Street ami one on Thirteenth 
Street, until 1876, when the Twentieth Street 
school was mo\'ed to Thirteenth Street. In 
1885 the Thirteenth Street property was sold, 
and the schools were transferred back to 
Tweiilieth Street, \\here a commodious school 
bad been built. 

In 1900 it was foimd necessary to branch 
(Hit. Teacher I'\ Moeller liegan teaching on 
the bluff. Teacher E. Selle retained in charge 
of the Twentieth Street school and Reverend 
E. I). Mennicke gathered and taught a class 
in the low(n- part of the city. Being successful 
a school hovise was built (ju Eighth Street 
(1901) and ph'iced in charge'of Mr. F. Lust- 
feld : he was succeeded by Mr. E. Rolf in the 
Svunmer of 1906. In 1903 a, new school was 
erect(>d on Thii'ty-sixlh Street, and placed in 
charge of Mr. I. Kaspar. 

A X XI V KRS.\ H Y CELK BR ATIOXS. 

The following anniversaries were celebrated: 

Twenty-fifth anniversary of the congrega- 
tion. July 19 and 20, 1881. 

Twenty-fifth anniversary of the pastor, 
Reverend C. A. Mennicke, 5v\\y 18, 1886. 

Twenty-fifth anniversary of Teacher F. 
Moeller, August 26, 1887. 

Twenty-fifth anniversary of Teacher E. 
Selle, July 19, 1891. 

Fortieth anniversary of the pastor. Re-\-er- 
end C. A. Mennicke, July 23. 1891. 

Fortieth anniversary of Teacher V . Moeller, 
Sei)tember 26, 1902. 

Fortieth anniversary of Teacher IC. L. 
Selle. June 25, 1906. 

Fiftieth anniversary of the congregation, 
June 24, 1906. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 189 



(■i:\ii:'i i:i! V. lie IkuI siiccccdcil in u;it licriiiu; a iiifinli(>i'slii|i 

Drc'CMiihor .">. ISdll. ,■! imiiilicr nl' inciiilicrs larsc cikiuuIi In Imild the (Icrniaii Methmlist 

(ii'sauizcil as the ( Ici-iiian l.iit licraii ( 'ciiictcix' Cliiii-cli on '1"\\ cut ict li Sti'ci'l lictween Sixth 

Association, ami piii-i'liascd a I w cl\c-acrc and Scx'cntli Axcnnc. w hci'c also the first 

tract on Tw ent \-roiirl h Sli-ecl, South i!o(d< pai'sonaue was Imilt. This church was (ledi- 

Tsland. Two acres were resold. I'ourorihe caleil l<y liexcicnd Haas in 1 S')7. liy tliis 

i-eniaiiiiiit;' ten aci'cs w ci'e ininiediateh' I ■lot teil lime the St. Louis (ierniaii Conference had 

out for sale. Snl)se(iuent ly I he w lioh' li'act heen oriiani/eil and this mission was turned 

was (lontited to the conL':refiatioii. .Mr. \\ . I'. o\ci' to saitl (lerman Conference. 

Schroeder, treasui-er: Mr. H. SidiocNc, se\lon. .\fter ha\-infi' lalioriHl foi- fifteen years more 

,\,ssi)(i.\Ti().\s wrriiix iim: i oncki (;.\'rio\. ainona: the (leianan |>eo])le the menil:)er,shi|) 

(1) Mutual .\i(l Society in case of deat h. had increased to such an extent tliat the 

('_') Mutual .Aid Society in case of si(d<ness. churcli on 'l\\-entieth Street became too 

{'■]) Ladies Societx'. small to accommodate tlu> pt'ople. That 

(4) ^lission Socief\'. church and parsona.ne were then sold and a 

(.")) Youns iVIen's Association. lot with a small house on the corner of 

(0) Young Ijadies' Association. l"ourte(>nlh Sli'eot and Sixth Avenue was 

(7) Mixed Choir. hou^hl. The small lnuise with mily two 

The Church Council, coii'.prisinii all the I'ooms had two more rooms ailded to it 

idiicials, is a board <if super\isory character: and became the parsona.ire. .\bout five years 

it consist.? of: a.i^o another story was put on this building 

Pastors — C. A. and K. D. Mennicke. and it was otherwise i-emoilel(>il into the pres- 

Teaehers — E. 1.. Selle, Imanuel Kas|)ar. I\. ent ]iarsona,U(\ On the coiaier of the lot the 

L. Rolf. present church w.as built and deilicateil in the 

Llilers - Charles Haensgen, ^\'. 1'. Schroeder, year 1874. 

II. Laniie, J. Roehr, A\'. .\. Schi'oether. The membership has iiexci- been xcry large, 

Trustees — X. Juld, H. Clemanii. ( '. Schoede, but much good lias been accomplished 

Iv Hoffmann, \\'. Scharmaiui. througli this church amoim the Cerman jieojile 

Schoolboard H. W. Horst, chairman: C. of this city. V\'. C. Schult/.e is the present 

llorst. -V. Seidlilz. licxerends C. ,\. ;;n(l Iv D. pastor. 
.M<'nuicke. Iv L. Selle, Imaniicl Kaspar, sec- 

p ,, ,> ,,. THE ]!i;().\i)\\.\\- I'i;i:si'.vti:rlan. 

retai-\-: I'-. 1' . Kolt. 

Janitor .1. Rohwedder. On October 2S. I N7 1 . a little com]iany of 

\\ . L. S(du'oeder, chairman of congregat ion. I'resljvteriairs met at the hi>me of .Mr. ]). T. 

Iv L. Selle, secretary of congregat ion. Kobinson to consider the advisability of 

C. Haensgen, treasurer of congregal ion. organizing a Presbyterian Chin'ch in the 

H. l.ange. assistant Ireasu.i'ei' congi'egat ion. eastern part of the city. Tin' conclusion was, 

"we deem il expedient to m-ganize." A 

THE(1ERMANMETH()|)ISTKP1SC(IPAL ^^^^j^i,,,, ,„ ,|,^, |.,,.,,v,..,v of Rock River, 

''^^ l-!''!!. presented at I'rinci'Pm. Illinois, on .\i)ril I?,. 

The Rock Rixer Conference of the .Metlio- 1875, liy a coinniiltee consisting of .Mr. C. C. 

dist l'4)iscoiial Church began a mission among ^fore and |)octor .1. \\ . Stewart, was fa\'or- 

the C(>rmau ])eople of Rock Island in Sep- ably heard, and the I'l-esbytery sent Rev- 

tcmber of the \-ear ISo."). sending Re\erenil ei'eiid .losiah .Millig.an. Reverend J. H. Aloore 

'I'lli-ich von (Junter as first missioiuir\'. and and Elder Snydei- to Rock Island to canvass 

afiei- two \ears work .■imouLi the (iei-nians the field and oi-i;ani/;e (he clim-ch. The new 



1(10 



// / N T h' I (■ H (I C K I S L A \ D C U N T Y 



chiircli was orfiaiiized April L'!). 1S7.'). and the 
f()ll()\viii,u officers elected: Klders. D. F. 
.M(irc, ('. (". More. H. T>oe ^Mitchell and J. \A'. 
Stewart: Deacons. Doctor S. ('. rinininer, H. 
A. Sinythe, W. (A Welch and H, Iv Woods; 
Trustees. J). T. Robinson, Alexander Steel. 
S. J. Keator, V. t'. :\Iore. W. C. Welch, A. F. 
Fleniin.t!,-, T. J. Rodman. \^ . II. Triie.sdalc and 
Spencer (iregg'. 

Fii't\- nieniber.s were received by letter from 
the niotlu>r Presbyterian church, now known 
as the Central, and seven united upon ]h-o- 
fession of faith. These organization services 
were held in the l)asement of the Central 
Church, the atiditoriuin of which was in the 
hands of workmen repairing tli(> damages 
wrought b\- the tornado of Se|:>tember IS, 
] 87.5. 

Lots were purchased for the new chui'ch at 
the corner of Broadway and Spencer Streets, 
now Seventh Avenue and Twenty-third 
Street, and the name Broadway chosen. On 
May 9, 1875, a Sunday school was organized, 
with sixty-one scholars, in what ■was known 
as Greenbiish Chapel, at the cornei- of Twenty- 
eighth Street and Ninth Avenue. Doctor C. 
D. Nott, of the First Presbyterian Church, 
Davenjiort, ])reached on Sunday afternoons 
until the coming in Noveml)er, 1875, of Rev- 
erend T. H. Bench, who had been called as 
the first pastor. May '2. 1S7G. the corner- 
stone of the new church Imilding was laid. 
The Sunday school room of the new building 
was ready for occupancy Feliruarj- 11. 1877. 
Here the congregation worshiped until the 
auditorium was completed, in 1878. 

Reverend ^^'. S. Marcpiis. who w;;s called in 
March. 1884. and installed as pastor on June 
15, 1884. and who, u]3 to the present time 
(1908) is still ser^-ing the cluu-ch. 

Among the more interesting and important 
facts in the history of this church, the follow- 
ing may be mentioned: The dedication of 
the auditorium. November 3, 1878; South 
Park Mission, organized July 15, 1888; South 
Park Chapel, dedicated October 7. 1 88S ; 



plans for (>nlai'gcment of chiu'ch and new 
Sunday school room adopted September 3. 
1894; corner store of same laid and Twentieth 
anniversary celebrated April 29, 1895; Sunday 
school ro(jni dedicated December 8, 1895; 
Reverenil Orahaui Lee, a memlier of the 
church, oi'dained to the Ciospel ministry arui 
sent forth to Korea in 1894. now supported 
as the foi-.'ign mission pastor of Broadway 
church; Sunday school room used by the 
High school for one year after the burning of 
the High school building, February 15, 1901; 
Synod of Illinois entertained October, 1904. 

SPKXCER ME-MORIAL METHODIST 
CHURCH. 

At a conference of the Methodist E])iscoijal 
Church for this district, held during the 
month of Sei:)tember, 1900, J. B. Rutter, the 
]3astor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at 
Milan, asked the Elder and the Conference 
f(u- the privilege of organizing a church in the 
Edgewood Park district, between the cities 
of Rock Island and Moline, and this permis- 
sion was granted to him. and on the 25th day 
of April, 1901, he and his wife, Ella Alter 
Ruttei, organized a Siuiday school, with Mr. 
Rutter as pastor and Miss Maud Maxwell 
secretar\'. On June 5, he organized a society 
known as the Edgewood Park Ladies' .Aid. 
Mrs. M. E. Le\-erich was elected jn-esident. 
Mrs. J. A. Pauley vice-president and Mrs. 
Ella Alter Rutter seeretar\\ On the 7th 
day of October, 1901, at a meeting called for 
that j)urpose, the following person.s — David 
J. Sears, S. J. Ferguson, W. ¥,. Scott, J. A. 
Pauley, Andrew Olson, James Ciauley and T. 
C. Nutter — organized themselves into a board 
of trustees, and elected J. A. Pauley secretary. 
J. B. Rutter, the pastor, gave the name of 
Spencer Memorial Methodist Episcopal church 

This organization then ado]:)ted the Sunda}- 
school as above organized, and the Ladies' 
Aid Society above organized, and together 
they became the congregation of the Spencei- 
^lemorial Methodist Episcopal Cluu-ch. 



HISTORIC ROCK IS L A N D C U \ T Y 191 



l)iniii,i; the tiiiir n( llu> i'uiii|i|iM imi of this side. I<;ila Altar I\uttei\ his wife, and Ici licr 

Di'jiaiiixatidii. .). II. iviittcr i-('cci\eil a dniia- in .ureal measure is due the tii'eless enerjiy 

tidii of twii lilts Irnii, Mr. I rank Iioliinson. and t'ft'cnf i'e(|nir(Ml in the iiriranization. 

niiw <UM'ease(|. and cm <)ct(ilici- _':;. llKll. the niaiia.iicmeiit anil Imildinii iif this churcdi. 

Ladies' .Aid Society nndertunk tii put a On .Marrh .'i 1 , ]'.H)'>. she died, lea\"in,n' as her 

I'liimdaliim ut' the new rliniTli n|Mm the luts mminmeid Spenrei' MenKirial Metlicidist Epi.s- 

al the rnrnei- iil' !■ inty-t hird Sticet and eupal Church. The name, .Spencer, is in 

Se\-onth A\('nue, and the ciirner stdiu- of this honiir iif a well known citizen i)y the name of 

foundation w.-is laid on 'i"hanksi;i\inu day. U'illiani Spencer. 

I ! )()■_'. 'I'he (diui'idi. Sunday school and Ladies' Since its orfiani/ation the church has gained 

Aid Societ\- w (M'e holdinsj: Iheii' meetings at a in eaidi of its departments, the Sunday 

lit t le chapel, know II as the ( )ld Sw ede Chiu'ch. school has increased from a memliership of 

a( tiie cornel- of Tliiid ,St I'eet and I'oui'tli ten to a membersluiJ of o\er two hunih'ed. 

Axcnue, in .Moline. ( )n ()ctoLer _'."). lllHii. The Ladies' Aid Society lias inci'eased fi-oin 

thi-ou,t!,h the enerjiv and in.neuuity of .). \'. a inenibershi[) of thirteen to a membership of 

Liutfer, the church i)roi:)er hatl l)een erected se\-enty-fi\-e. The church lias now a member- 

aiid finislied itpon the founchition hud by tlie ship of (Uie huuih'ed and ei.nhty-one reguhxr 

Ladies' Aid Society, and dedication .ser^•ices atiihated meml.)ers, and in the leadership of 

were hekl amid a gi'eat demonstratictn. The our new ])astor, F. K. Sliult, the peo])le of the 

|)eopIe of Kdgewood Park district together Si)encer Memorial Methodist I*]pisco|)al Chm-ch 

with other generous minded people of llm-k e.xpect to accoini.)hsh great things for .Metho- 

Islaml and iMoline, ])laced the ciiurcii organ- ibsm in the J'^.dgewood Park district, 
ization in a ijosition to do legitimate church 
Iiusmess. 1 he liuilchng and loiindation. to- 

getiier witii the e.\penses of obtaining the Rock Island has two well established and 

same, had cost over .120,000. and this eiior- flourishing synagogues, the largest of which 

nioiis debt haii.C'ed o\-er the new or.ii'anizat ion is Petli Israel, locateil .at the comer of 

unprovidetl for until Se|itember S. l'.l()7. for Twenty-second Street and Third .V\-enue. .M. 

while thrtnigh the efforts of the pastor. .L P>. 'ioldman. Rabbi. This congregation, in the 

Hiitter. the church building had been placed year 190'-'. erected a magnificent edifice in 

III position and the congregation well or.gan- which to worship. The Beth Israel Congre- 

ized. yet it remained for the coiif(>renci' of the gatiiui. many years prior to the ciuistruction 

Methodist I'^piscopal Church, held during of their present synagogue, had occupied 

September. 1 '.XKi. to pio\ ide a man in the \arious quarters and had a large meiuliershi]). 

person of W. P. .Mac\'e\', to s\st eiiiat ize and I miiK'(liately followin.n the building of their 

pro\ide for the raising of the enormous church present luuise of worship, another congrega- 

debt. The new pastor, who replacecl .1. P. (ion was formed, so that the Hebrews in the 

Riitter, succeeded in placinii this debt in .a lowi'r end of the city would not be called 

manageable form. ;ind now at the last con- u])on to tra\erse the lout; distance interven- 

ference held during tlie nioiilli of September. ing betxM'en the Het h Israel synagogue and 

10117. tlu' l{e\'erend W. P. Mac\'e\- was their homes. This seciuid synagogue. H'Xai 

replaced by V. Iv Sliult. the new pastor. .I.acob Congregation, is temporaril\- located 

Tlie pastorate of ,1. P. Putter extended from on Xintli Street and Eighth .\\-enue. ami is 

September, 1001. to Sept eiiilier. lOOli fi\'e under t li(^ direction of I'rederick Itudman. 

\ears. I iitil March .'il. lOd-'i, he had b)- his p|-esideiit of the cmi^regat iiui. 



m-i 



// I S r RI C R C K ISLAND COUNTY 



EI)(;i;\\()OD BAPTIST CHrRCH. 

The I'lnircli was i)r.i;ani/e(l iJt^'t'inlier 3, 
inOo. l)y I he ciiniiiio; too-ether of twenty-seven 
liaptists fnini the First Cliiircli of Moliiie and 
Hock Island. They called H. \i. Hayden as 
pastor on Decenilier 10. ]0()5. The chnrcii 
jii'ew to sixty-twd menihers. Tiie title to 
the old Raj)tist ("hapcl on Forty-fourth 
Street was cdeared by action of the I'^irst 
Haptisl ("hni-ch and tlie I'esidnary heirs of 
Mr. Sinnett. 

The l)nildin,i; was nioxcd to a lot on the 
corner of I''ifth .\\'enue and I-'oi'ty-fonrt h 
Street, donated by .Mrs. Pauline Sinnett; the 
parsonage, also donated by her, is on this lot. 

GERMAN KVANGELICAL FKIEDENS 
CONGREGATION. 

Tills congregation, a niend)er of the German 
E\-angelical Synod of North America, Axas 
founded September S, 1895, by Reverend ('. 
F. Off, with thirty members. The first 
offieens elected were: Martin O.swald, Henry 
Fues, Herman Meese. ,Iohn Wendt. In .^pril, 
1896, Reverend Theo F. Krueger. of Cum- 
berland, Indiana, was elected as jiermaiient 
l)astor of the congregation. In the Summer 
of this year the congregation bought the 
chin-ch property of the English ;\Iethodist 
Episco|)al congregation, at .516 Ninth Street. 
In October. 1899, Reverend Krueger left the 
congregation, and Reverend J. F. C. Trefzer 
was elected as his successor. Under his 
management the jiarsonage was built soutii 
of the church. No. 520 Ninth Street. 

When Reverend Trefzer left the congrega- 
tion in October. 190;3. Reverend Ed E. 
Klimpke of Aurora, Illinois, the present 
pa.stor, was called to succeed him. He took 
u]i the work in the congregation the 1st of 
:\Iay. 1904. In 1905 and 1906 the church 
was rebuilt with a cost of $2,000. The 
officers of the congregation at present are: 
Reverend Ed E. Klimpke, pa.stor: John 
\A'ciidl, president; Carl Krueger, secretarv: 



Herman .Meese, treasurer: Otto W'oest, secre- 
tary. The congregation has at present a 
membershi]) of about one hundred and fiftj'' 
The Ladies' Aid Society has seventv'-five 
members. The officers are: ]\Irs. Emma 
Kami, president : Mrs. Fennesy, vice-presi- 
dent: Mrs. Dora Krueger, secretary: Mr.s. 
I'^lise Seidel, treasurer; Mrs. Pomranke, finan- 
cial secretary. The Yoimg People's Society 
has about thirty members. The officers are: 
Reverentl Va\ E. Klimpke, jiresident; Miss 
Olga Krueger, vice-])resident : Miss Martha 
Kilmpke, secretar}-; Mr. Arthiu Len.^,, treas- 
urer; Miss Bertha Pomranke, financial secre- 
tary; Miss Martha .Schmidt, librarian. 

The Sunday school has a membership of 
aljout one himdred. 

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST (SCIENTIST) 

First Churcli of Christ, Scientist, of Rock 
Island. Illinois, is a branch of the First Church 
of Christ, Scientist, Boston. Massachusetts. 
It was organized on November 2, 1896, to 
take possession of and conduct service.s in 
the church edifice whicdi iiad been erected 
for its use by a few adherents of the Christian 
Science faith. 

This was the first church edifice erected in 
the State of Illinois to be used e.xclusively for 
the Christian Science worship. Its location 
is on Twenty-third Street, near Ninth Avenue, 
and near the geograi>hical center of the city. 

The dedicatory service, held on Novemlier 
S, 1906, was the first Christian Science Sun- 
day service held in Rock Ishunl, the local 
Christian Scientists having jire\'iously attend- 
ed church in Davenport, Iowa. 

The Sunday services are held at 10;45 A. 
;\I., and are conducted by two readers, who 
are elected every three years from the mem- 
bership of the church. One of the readers 
reads from the Bible. The other from Science 
and Health with key to the Scriptures, the 
text book of Christian Science by Mary 
Baker G. luldy. Sunday school is held 
immediatelv aftei' the morning service. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



193 



For a iiuinlicr of years a rcailinii I'mini has 
heen niaintaiiicil in comicct i(iii with the 
church. 

ST. P.AUL'S (RKLfUAN) CATTIOT>IC 
CIirHCH. 

St. Paul's Church, l(icaf('(l im Twenty- 
fciurtli s'ti't'et and lughth auil a lialf A\-cnue, 
was opened for services for the first time on 
February 5, 1905. On that occasion the 
choir rendered beautiful unisic and the pastor, 
Reverend J. B. Ceuk'iuaiis, flelivered the 
sermon, in which lie spoke of the many 
])re\'ious attempts which wci'c made to 
organize a parish in which the Jk'ljiian 
Catholics of Rock Island could \\()rshi|i 
together in a congregation all of theii' own 
peo])le. 

Although their ])lace of worship is \'ery 
modest, it is cpiite at(racti\(' inside. The 
Reverend J. H. Ceulemans was born in licl- 
gium, where he was educated and ordained 
a priest. In 1907 leather Ceulemans took 
charge of Sacred Heart ('hni-ch in Moline, and 
left Rock Lsland. 

He was succeeded li\- another priest from 
IJelgium, Father beon iv \'anStoppen. This 
is the present i)astor, and who huihled the 
parsonage house, which is a fine inipro\e- 
lucnt to the church pi'uperlv. 

SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CIirHCH. 

The Sacred Heart parish was founded July 
2S, 1898, by the Reverend John F. bocknc3\ 
It includes all the English speaking catholics 
between Twenty-third Street, both sides, to 
Forty-sixth Street. Father Lockney built a 
temporary church on Twenty-eighth Street 
and used it two years. He moved the 
])arochial residence twenty feet east in order 
to have room to built the new church. 

The corner-stone of the new church was 
laid in ■May, 1901, and the first mass in the 
new chiu'ch was Christmas, 1902. The new 
clnu'ch cost $36,000. Father Lockney bought 
the property for 15,500. The magnificent 



church, rectory and grounds are worth today 
S6(),0()(). The pastoi- and people have worked 
very zealously together and the parish in is 
a very flourishing condition. Father Lockney 
still presides over the destinies of the ]:>arish 
and is the longest resident Catholic pastor in 
Rock Island. 

CHURCHES OF MOLINE. 



FIRST CONCiREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

Organized 1S44. First pastor, Reverend 
A. R. Hitchcock, a ^'ale graiiuate, and a man 
f)f great inlluence in the community. The 
first chorister was Anson M. Hubbard, and 
who organized the first brass band in the 
three cities. He dexeloped a strong chorus 
choir, the parent of all Moline's later musical 
organizations. The first church building was 
a suKill wooden strnctiu'e, now occupied as 
the freight de|)ot of the Rurlington railroad. 
A Ijrick structure was erected at Se\-enteenth 
Street and l''ifth Avenue in 1869, and this 
was remodeletl at an expense of $40,000 in 
1900. The church is unusually complete in 
its ap])ointments, ha\-ing parlors, a ilining 
room and kitchen capable of serving three 
hundred people at once, gymnasium and 
sliower b.-iths for the hoys' clui), etc. The 
church has a iuai;nilicent organ of 1,500 ]5ipes, 
built on the l>ennett system, the gift of Sarah 
M. Atkinson, in memoi-y of her husband and 
son. 

Among the ])ioneers in the church were 
John Deere, I). C. Dimo(dv, Charles Atkinson, 
Jonathan Huntoon, Joseph Huntoon, R. K. 
Swan, Thonuis Mcrryman, N. C. Tyrrell and 
W. H. Edwards. Tlie church has given birth 
to three otlier churches, tlie Second Congre- 
gational, now some eighteen years old, antl 
the Ridgeview and East Moline churches, 
organized three years ago. It has given 
several thousand dollars to the work of these 
organizations. The present pastor is Paul 
W. Rrown, who has been with the church 
since 1904. 



194 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



THE SWEDISH METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH. 

The churcli was organized in September, 
1849, by Reverend Jonas Hedstrom of, it is 
said, seven members. Among them was 
Glaus Bengston, the first Swedish settler in 
Moline. The meetings of the church were 
held in Mr. Bengston's home for more than 
ten years. In 1 860 the first church was built 
on Park Street and Boardman Avenue, now 
Seventh Avenue and Fifteenth Street or 
"Five Points." That building was sold in 
1871 and the old American Methodist church 
was bought and moved to the corner of Hemy 
and Lynde Streets, now Fifth Avenue and 
Sixteenth Street, whore the new church was 
built in 1889, diu'ing the jiastorate of Martin 
Hess. During all these years the church has 
had a steady growth and ])rogress, so from 
the seven first memljcrs the total number 
counts to date two hundred and twenty-five. 
If all the memlters who have joined and later 
moved to other places had held their member- 
ship here the church would now number 
more than twice its jsresent membership. 

About twenty-five i)astors have served the 
church during the past sixty years. Among 
tlicni many of the pioneers in Swedish 
Methodism. The present ])astor is John P. 
Miller, who is serving liis fourth year. The 
]>ars()nage was Iniilt al>out thirty-five years 
ago. The church projtcrty is woith today 
about $30,000. 

SWEDISH EVANGELICAL LLTHERAN 
CHURCH. 

This church was organized with fifty 
members about LSoO. Its membership is 
considerably over a thousand, with over 
three hundred Sunday school scholars. Rev- 
erend L. P. Esbjorn, in charge at Andover, 
Hciu'v County, was pastor also of this church 
up to LS.56, and imder liis ministry the fii'st 
church was liuilt. He was succeeded by 
Reverend 0. C. T. Andrccii, till 1860; Rev- 



erend G. Peters, till 186.3; Reverend J. S. 
Benson, from 1866 to 1873; followed by the 
Reverend A. G. Setterdahl. The present 
pastor is Reverend Lawrence A. Johnston. 
The present church building is of brick, in 
the Gothic style of architecture, of very 
handsome design, costing nearly $30,000. 



FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. 

Reverend Joseph Elliot, a clergyman from 
Ohio came here in November, 1850, on a visit 
to his son, residing here. He was invited to 
preach, and did so; curiosity drawing a large 
congregation to hear the stranger. On the 
evening of Janiuiry 18, 1851, the church was 
organized, with twenty members, the Rev- 
erend Mr. Elliot being its first pastor, suc- 
ceeded by Reverends Ebernhart, L. C. Carr, 
F. D. Rickerson, William Patterson, Isaac 
Newell, T. F. Borchers and G. F. Linfield, 
respectively. The jjresent pastor is the 
ReA'erend Benjamin F. Martin. 

ST. ANTHONY'S (ROMAN CATHOLIC) 
CHURCH. 

The first Catholic priest to officiate at 
Moline was Father Allemann, of Pa)ck Island, 
in 1857. He held services at different places 
outside of his regular parish, at iloline, 
Hampton, and other ])oints. In 1858 the 
church was ])uilt in Moline. 

ST. :\I ART'S CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

Is located at the southeast corner of Tenth 
Street and Fourth Avenue. Reverend Joseph 
S. Kelly is rector, and Reverend Michael 
Gildea, assistant rector. 

THE FIRST SWEDISH BAPTIST CHURCH 

The First Swedish Ba])tist Cliurch of Moline, 
Illinois, was organized May 7, 1876. Those 
organizing themseh^es to a chiu-ch were before 
members of the Swedish Church in Rock 
Island, which was organized in 1S53. 

The counsel present at the organization 
was: Doctor Nasbitt, D. Hawes and D. Colby 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



195 



from the Amoricaii Clnii-ch in Kcick 
Island; JU^\-cronil I'owcll, Hnckhausrli ami 
\\'illiains, from Davenport; Keverend L. L. 
FrLsk, P. Hallinjr, A. Y. Ynnson, P. Flodin 
and C. O. Yensen from the Swedish Baptist 
Church, of Rock Island; Reverend T. F. 
J5orches, Frank Sinnet and O. (iunnell, from 
the American Hapfist CliMrch, ]\Ioline. 

Reverend T. F. J5orchcs was elected chair- 
man and Reverend O. Lind clerk. The mem- 
bershi]) of the new church at its organization 
was seventy-four. The following officers were 
elected: Deacons, Yohannes Anderson and 
Christ-offer Lofrjuist; trustees, Charles Carl- 
son, Nels Rundquist and P. Erickson. Prop- 
erties owned by the clnu'ch ai'e a church 
building, a parsonage and a house for the 
janitor. 

The seating capaicty of the church is five 
hundred. It is built of i)rick. The jiar.sonage 
is located in the finest part of the city. The 
church has had a steady growth since its 
organization. Over three hundred have been 
baptized; about two hundred and twcidy-five 
received l)y letter and about lifty by e.xjjer- 
ience. The total nuiiibci- of members re- 
ceived since its organization is o\'cr six 
hundred. The membership at present is two 
hundred and thirty-fi\'e. 

The ]iastor now ha\'ing charge of the 
church is Re\erend Detlof Lofstrom, who 
l>egan work in connection with tlie church 
April 6, 1905. He came here from McKees- 
port, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate from 
the Swedish Department of the University of 
Chicago since Ajiril 14, 1S92. Reverend 
Lofstrom was l)orn in Sweden and came to 
this country twenty years ago. 

THE SECOND METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH. 

The Second Methodist Ei)isco])al Church 
was organized in the year 1890 by the Rev- 
erend Addis Alljro, who was then pastor of 
the Plrst Methodist I^piscopal Church, and 
PresidinglElder M. A. Head of the Rock 



Island District. The Uiuted Rrethcrn chui'ch 
owned a building in Stewart ville, and their 
mcnd)crshi]i was fast becoming extinct, when 
they decided to dispose of their church 
property. The building was ]iurchased from 
the United Rrethern peo]ile, and steps w-ere 
taken at once to organize a Second Metho- 
dist t'hurch in Stewartville. now known as 
South Moline. Into this new organization 
were received forty-eight members from the 
First Methodist Episcopal ('hurch. The first 
])astor apjiointeil was Reverend S. L. Guthrie. 
During the first year, revival services were 
held and sixty-six members were added to 
the roll. His pastorate was blessed with 
great results. The second year ]jlans were 
made to impro\-e the building. A league 
room was added at a cost of nearly $1,000. 
Reverend Guthrie was pastor two years. In 
September, 1892, Reverend J. W. Edwards 
was appointed ])astor, and remained one year. 
Reverend Idetclier DeClark was appointed 
pastor in \S'X]. He was followed in 1894 Ijy 
Reverend W. H. Crane, who was ])astf)r tw(j 
years. In 1896 Reverend R. G. Pearce was 
a]ipoiiiled pastor and renuuned one year and 
six months; owing to failing health he re- 
signed. Januai'v ID. ls<)8. Reverend A. H. 
Smith was appointed pastor and ser^•ed the 
church two years and six months. Rev- 
erend G. II. Thorjie was the next pastor 
taking up the work June 2, ]9()(). Reverend 
C. C. McKown was appointed jiastor Sep- 
tendicr, 1900, followed by Re\-erend A. E. 
loder, Sepfend)er 2.'>. l'.)l)l. September 26, 
1904, the ])reseiit ])astor. Reverend I). S. 
Andrewartha, was assigned the charge. 

During all these pastorates the church has 
steadily nuide gains. The mend^ers are 
earnest in their efforts, for the success of 
their church. At present improvements are 
being made, and when com])leted, will put 
the property in splendid condition, making 
it one of tlie most attractive churches for its 
size in the City of Moline. 



196 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



SECOND CONGREOATIONAL CHURCH. 

Tlie Second Congregational Church of 
Mohne was started as a Mission Sunday 
School sometime l)ct\vcen ISSO and 1890. It 
was organized as a church June 7, 1891, Rev- 
erend J. M. ilcKiught being its first pastor. 
There were thirty-two members, twenty-six 
coming in by letter and six on confession of 
faith. The first clerk and treasurer was 
William Gamlile. The trustees were C. T. 
Guv, W. V. Richards, John Williams, J. 
Stofft and W. T. Ball. 

The ))arsonage was built in 1903. The 
present mend)ership is one hundred and 
seventy. The present pastor is Re\erend 
Richard S. Haney. 

CHRIST CHURCH. 

The I'piscopal church was late in coining 
to Moline. It was organized May 22, 1891, 
as a mission under grant from Bishop Bui'gess. 
Sixty persons signetl the ap)ilication to the 
Bisho]) and called the Re\'erond Robert 
Hewitt as first jiriest in cliarge. I'or several 
years the organization met in the association 
rooms ill the auditorium. The congregation 
was iiicor].)orated under the laws of the State 
on Sejitember 11, 1891, anil adojjted a con- 
stitution. The first wardens were George B. 
Hull and John A. Mann. . Reverend L. Sin- 
clair came frcnii Sudluiry, Ontario, to the 
charge of the jiarish in Septemljer, 1892, aiul 
remained until tiie spring of 1894, when a call 
was extended to lievereiid F. K. Howard of 
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, to become rector. 

During the rectorsliip of Father Howard 
the ]iresent church Ijuilding was erected and 
occupied January 1, ISOo. 

Reverend Roliert Hewitt was again called 
to the jiarish in 1897 and remained in charge 
until June 1, 1SU9. The parish was then 
witliout the regular ministrations of a priest 
until June 1, 1900, when tlio Reverend Doctor 
F. H. Biirroll was called from Darlington, 
Wisconsin. 



No missions have been organized as off- 
shoots of this parish, but it is in a healthy, 
growing condition, anrl future prospects 
bright. 

THE PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL 
CHURCH, EAST MOLINE, ILLINOIS. 

In the Summer of 1903, the Reverend W. 
A. Elliott (under the auspices of the Congre- 
gational Sunday School Society, directed by 
Reverend W. F. McMillan, secretary), entered 
East Moline and succeeded in organizing a 
school. Although difficult, it has proven 
beneficial to the conimunity, and has been 
well attended, especially by the young. In 
December, 1903, under direction of the First 
Congregational Church of Moline, the Rev- 
erend Frank Hoover, state evangelist of the 
Congregational Home Missionary Society of 
Illinois, held a series of evangelical services, 
assisted by Reverend W. W. Willard of the 
First Congregational Church of iMoline, and 
Reverend J. W. Davies of Creston, Illinois; 
meetings lieing held in the John Deere School 
buildings. As a result the names of 
twenty-five peojjle were received for mem- 
bership. 

Organization was perfected January 15, 
1904, and incorjioration February 28, 1905. 
The council unaniinou.sly voted to recognize 
the Plymouth Congregational Church of Ea.st 
.Moline, Illinois. An unusually pleasant even- 
ing of song service, scriptural reading and 
hand of fellowship was intUilged in, followed 
by an exceedingly finef sermon by Doctor A. 
M. Brodie, of Chicago, closing with prayer 
and benediction. Reverend J. W. Davies 
was the first ordained jxistor, followed by the 
Reverend Henry Flarris of Chicago, whose 
strong efforts and skill as an organizer and 
builder, with the assistance of the Reverend 
Paul Brown, the regular pastor, and his con- 
gregation succeeded in erecting a fine churcli 
of concrete lilocks. Reverend Walter H. 
North is the present pastor. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



197 



SAt'UEn HEART HEIXilAX CATHOLIC 
CHURCH. 

The J'cliiiaii Catliiilic iHipiilalioii nf this 
city had worshiped at St. Mary's cluirch 
ever since tlie di'sanizatioii of (liat jiarisli, 
soiiu! thirty y(>ars aiio. liiit willi (lie growth 
of the city, the need of a separate consrc,i;'a- 
tioii became more and more a]i]iareiit. In 
answer to an often expressed (h'sire. Hishop 
.loliii Lancaster Sjiahlins of Peoria organized 
this coiiiireiiation in Sept(Mnl)er, 1 !)()(). 

Rnildiini: operations were started in Novem- 
hei" of tlto s.'inie year, and conifjleted in March, 
1(11)7. The worlc inis met with the liearty 
and enthnsiaslic suppoi't of tiie nienihershij). 
whicli is njnvard of three hmidred families. 

In yeptemher, ]!)()7, there was opened in 
connection with the clim'ch, a paroclnal 
school, numbering; at present two hnndred 
and sixty pupils. This school follows the 
pidilic school program in ;dl its grades and is 
free to children of all denominations. 

The conn:re,siati(ni ]>ossesses at present a 
church and school edifice, a jiarsonage, and a 
residence for the Sisters conducting the 
school. The present piastor is Reverend J. 
I). Ceulemans, residence loOl Si.xteenth 
.'\\-enne, Moline, Illinois. 

CHURCHES OF TOWNSHIPS. 



CORDOVA CHURCHES. 

In the Fall of 1S4:L Elder Jesse N. Seeley, 
a missionary under the American Haptist 
Home Mission Society, held a series of meet- 
ings, resulting in the conversion of a number 
of pensons, ten of whom were baptized by 
Elder Jesse N. Seeley. Tliese, with others in 
this vicinity who were mend^ers of iJaptist 
chin-ches in other places, united in measures 
for church organization, and called a council 
of delegates from other churches for a. meet- 
ing on December 28, 1843. 

The following brethern were prescid: 
James Turner, Enos French, John Campbell, 
William Hubbard, William I'arklinrst, liath 



C'hnrch ; Luther Edward.s, Reverend E. Mar- 
cellas, O. Blanchard, William W. Pierce, D. 
Wilson. Port Byron Church; Reverend J. N. 
Seeley, Davenport, Iowa; J. H. Swartwout, Ga- 
lena, Illinois; E. Calkins, Rock Island, Illinois. 

The couiH'il was organized by .appointing 
Re\ereiid J. N. Seeley moderator and Daniel 
Wilson clerk. 

The church letters wei'e then called for and 
])resented l)y the following: Levi Ilnnger- 
foi'd and Betsey Hungerford, Madison, Ohio; 
Frances Swartwout. Francis J). Swartwout, 
Thonnis Swartwout, Clarissa Swartwout, 
Clarissa E. Swartwout. Elizal)eth Swartwout, 
Port P>yron, Illinois; William Aruisli-ong, 
liebecca Passmore, .Joseph R. Se.xttm, Maliala 
Sexton, J and L. Cool, Margaret Cool, Andrew 
S. Ege, Mary Ann F^ge. Cli.arity (Inldcii, 
Amanda Adams, these were liaptized by 
Reverend J. N. Seeley, and led to the organ- 
ization of the chui'ch. 

The afore name(l eighteen were the con- 
stituent members of the {'ordf)va. Baptist 
church, oi'gaiuze(l (he L'St h day of Decemiier, 
LS4;!. 

On August 24, 1S44, it w.as decided b) build 
a meeting housp, which on Febrn.ary I .'L 1X45, 
was dedicated. Sometime in 18.")t) a parson- 
age was built and the chiu'ch decided to 
bnild a new meeting Iiouse, and on November 
17, 1858, the new meeting house was dedi- 
cated, which is the one used by the church 
today. 

TFIE PORT BYRON CONGREGATIONAL 
CHURCH. 

The Port Byron Congregational Church was 
organized in 1849, on the first and second 
days of September, through the instrumen- 
tality of Reverend Julius A. Reed, home 
missionary agent for Iowa. Previous to this 
time there had Ijeen Congregational preach- 
ing in the town once or twice. 

The church edifice was startetl in 1 S54 and 
com]deted in 1856. The parsonage was built 
in 1894. The original number of mendiers 



19S 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



was twelve and now it. is aljoiit one liundred 
and forty-nine. At jiresent we have no 
pastor, as Reverend W. l'>. Sliaw resigned 
October, 1907. 

PORT RYRON METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH. 

Tiiis church was oi'fjaiiized in IS^G, with a 
membership of six or eight, among whom 
were Arcliibald Allen, Candaee Allen, .1. II. 
Lyford and wife, and John Mitchell and wife. 
The earliest meetings were held in a log cabin, 
but a good church was built some years later, 
at an expense of $3,000. The chiu'ch is in a 
flourishing condition, with a good member- 
ship. 

COE TOWNSHIP CHURCHES. 

The Church of the United Bret hern in 
Christ was organized at the house of Fatiicr 
John Walker, on Canoe Creek, in 1S47, where 
the earliest meetings were hekl. The first 
chvn-ch was jjuilt in 1S49, at a cost of three 
hundred dollars, but replaced l)y a new one 
in 1S68, at an exi)cnse of $.'5,000. Tiie ])astors 
have been Herman Scott, Moses Clifton, E. 
Church, John Doliarhide, W. E. Henry, F. 
Dietz, Merrit Lathrop, J. K. M. Looker, A. 
B. Frasier, J. H. Young, (i. Brisljy, (leorge 
Snyder, C. Wendle, J. H. (Irimin, W^ R. 
Coursey, S. F. Medlar and C. Bender. 

BETHESDA, CANOE CREEK TOWNSHIP. 

The Methodist Ejiiscopal Church of Be- 
thesda, was built in 1859, by Reverend Steph- 
en Odeli, Perry Henderson and others. It 
is located about a mile southwest of Hillsdale. 
It has a fair membership, with a good Sunday 
school attendance. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 
ZUMA. 

The hrst Methodist Episcopal class organ- 
izetl in Zuma was in March, 1870, in the 
Wake school house, and the following named 
persons composed the class: John A. Don- 



ohoo and wife, L. W. Beal and wife, Mrs. 
Mary Moody, Mrs. Knowls, Mr. and Mrs. 
J. Dillon, Mr. and Mrs. William McKeever, 
Mr. and Mrs. George Wake, Mr. and Mrs. 
Nathaniel Mumma, and quite a number 
joined on probation and came into the church 
later, and othei's wandered away forever. 
The fii'st Methodist Episcopal church that 
was built was dedicated in September, 1870, 
by Reverend Worthington; the first pastor 
was Reverend Jemer.son, ami the first elder 
was the sedate, efficient and Codly Reverend 
Doctor Hunter. The first church built was 
taken down in 1903, and during the thirty- 
three years it was occupied we had twenty- 
(jiie pastors and ten elders, and among them 
was some grand, good men, consecrated men, 
and all were faithful to tlieir trust. 

In Jainuiry, 1904, the new church was 
dedicated by the Reverend Smith of Aledo, 
and the jiastor was Reverend Mecluini, and 
after him came Reverend T. W\)od, tiien A. 
A. Waters. The present pastor is Reverend 
W. Hull, and the jiresent elder is Reverend 
Doctor Wiley. When we built the first 
church the circuit was called Zuma, Cordova, 
Carbon Cliff and Pleasant Valley, belonging 
to the circuit. In the seventies, Fairfield 
built a church; Cordova and the other two 
jilaces were added to Port Byron, and Hamp- 
ton, then in 189.5 or 1896 Hillsdale built a 
church and it was dedicated by Reverend 
Elder Head, and since then the circuit has 
l)een called Hillsdale. 

RAPIDS CITY. 

The first church organized in Rapids City 
was the Chiu'cli of Christ, on September 8, 
1S56, by Elder O. W. Smith, with a member- 
shi|i of twelve. Commencing May, 1857, A. 
G. Lucas, an evangelist, was pastor for tw-o 
years, and added eighty members, he being 
succeeded by Elder H. C. Brown, who ;iddcil 
forty-two members in a year and one-half. 
The church owns a commodious brick house, 
l)uilt upon the lantl donated l)y Jonas Barber. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



199 



HAMPTON CHURCHES. 

Th(> jMctliodist Episcopal Clmrcli was 
founded by the Reveren(! (i. Ci. Worthingt-on 
in 1842 or 1S4.3. Amoni? its members were 
Harmon G. Reynolds, E. F. Ai'cularius and 
wife, and Nancy Thompson; the nieml)ership 
beins eleven. The church has helonjied to 
resi)ecli\'ely the Rock Island circuit, .Molinc; 
circuit. Port Byron circuit, when in 1.SG5 the 
Hani])ton circuit was orsianizcd. In 1S70 
Hampton was joined to Znuia and calleil 
Rock River circuit. In 1874 Zunui was cut 
off and Hampton circuit resumed. 

TIic Con!irci;ational Church was or.nanized 
I'ebruary 15, 1853, by the Reverend A. 15. 
Hitchcock, with a membership of fourteen. 
.\ church was built in 1856 and 1857, at a 
cost of $2,500. 

FIRST liAPTIST CHURCH OF WATER- 
TOWN. 

This church was organized July 27, 1SG5, 
by Elder H. S. P. Warren, Laura J. Warren, 
Mary A. Jiayte, Mary K. Newton, and P'. 
Warren. The first pastor was Elder H. S. P. 
Warren. They built a house of worship in 
1877, which was greatly improved in 190(3. 
The jiresent pastor is Reverend PI. W. Parker. 

COAL VALLEY CHURCHES. 

Coal Valley is well supplied with chiu'ches. 

The Welsh Baptist Church was organized 
in 18G6, under the supervision of Reverend 
T. ■M. Mattiiews, remaining its pastor until 
1 870. 

In 1867 the Presbyterian Church was organ- 
ized, with John Barton, Albert Owens, Fred- 
eric Freeburg, Hugh Caughey and Robert 
Lee as trustees; the membership numljering 
twenty-five members. A church was l;>uilt 
the same year, costing .|2,500. 

The Primitive Methodists were organized 
in 1868, a church being erected tlie following 
year, costing S2,()0(). Their first ]>rcacher 
was Reverend Charles l)aw^son, who came 



from Kewanee once a month. It was some 
time before they luid a regular r(>sident 
minister. 

The Welsh Congregational ("hurch was or- 
ganized in 1857 by the Reverend .John L. 
Richards, with a membershi]) of fifteen. 
Meetings being first held at the home of Mrs. 
Sarali Williams. In the year 1802 ,'i house 
of worship, costing $1,000. was built. 

The Poman Catholic i-osidents, pi-ior to 
1875, were connected with the Rock Island 
mission. In 1870 they build a cdiurch, cost- 
ing S2,000, which w.-is formerly openctl for 
worship by Rt^-nreiid ,lohn P. Poles, who 
supervised the l)uilding of the chui'cli. which 
is in a flourishing condition. 

THE FIRST PliESliVTERIAN ClirpCH 
OF MILAN. 

The First Presbyterian Church of Milan. 
Illinois, originally known as the I'irst Pres- 
byterian Church of Camden, Okl School 
Branch, was oi'ganized in April, 1845. The 
town was laid out in 1843, and as the settlers 
were mainly (Jod-fearing men and women, 
they soon felt tiie need of a religious organi- 
zatiim. As the majority of those who desired 
the church were of Presbyterian belief, they 
resolved, with Mr. William Dickson at the 
head, to oi'ganize a church of this <lenomina- • 
tion. To this end, notice was duly given to 
the people of the town of Camden and 
vicinity to meet in the meeting house on 
April 5, 1845. The Reverend Samuel Cleland 
was the moderator, and the Reverend Thomas 
Vaill clerk of the meeting. The meeting 
being constituted with prayer by the moder- 
ator, the object of the meeting was stated. 
Mr. William Dickson presented a number of 
articles and resolutions for consideration and 
action, these forming the constitution by 
which they were hereafter to be regulated. 
After the .second reading they were unani- 
mously adopted. Tlie first services in the 
town of Camden were held in the mill owned 
bv 1''. R. Brimot and James Dickson, Reverend 



200 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Ithamar Pillsl:>urv preachin.a; the sermon 
from the text fouml in T.iike, 17:.']o. Duriiis 
the Winter of 1844-45, the services were held 
at the home of James Dickson, as the mill 
proved too cold for comfort. It was during 
the Winter of 1845-46 that Father Dickson 
l)nilt the first church; not so much as the 
price of a nail was contributed by anyone 
else. Laborers were scarce and money scarce; 
so the greater part of the work devolved ujion 
him. The timliers must be taken from the 
forest and floated across Rock River, as there 
were no bridges. The task was a ditficidt 
one, but the building was completed on- May 
21, 1846, and dedicated free of debt on the 
22d, to the services of Almighty God. Rev- 
erend Wilson preached the dedicatory sermon, 
and Reverend Pillsbury offered the dedicatory 
prayer. The following Sunday, May 24th, 
the first sacrament was celebrated. Whether 
with minister or without, as it often was, the 
church de])ended in a great measure on this 
good man, Tathei' Dickson, to afford the 
means of grace. Every Sabbatii the voice of 
prayer and praise might be heard. Often he 
read a sermon to the little band of worshipers, 
and was e\'er their leader. The founders or 
charter mend)ers were: William Dickson, 
Mariani ('. Dickson, James Dickson, Ruth 
Ann Dickson, Sarah Dickson, I)a\id M. Dick- 
son, Francis E. Dickson, William Clark, 
Almina Clark, Eliza Ann Dickson, Elizabeth 
M. Dickson, William Pinkertmi. Hacliol Pild^- 
erton, Ednnnid Hollister and Emma A. 
Hollister. 

During the ])astorate f)f Doctor W. W. 
Morehead the little church ])ecame too small 
to accommodate the growing congregation. 
The necessity of a new church brought abiuit 
the l)uilding of the present house of worshi]i. 
This building, begun in 1866, was dedicated, 
also free of debt, by Doctor Morehead, on 
October 4, 1S6S. The committee who at- 
tended to this \viii-k «ere: James Dickson 
and N. D. liradley. The interior of the build- 
ing was remodeled iu 1U()2, and is now one of 



the prettiest and neatest churches in this part 
of the State. In 1878 the parsonage was 
built, later a barn was added. In 1894 a 
pipe organ was placed in the church. The 
]5resent membership is one hundred and 
forty. The following have served as pastors 
since the organization of the church: Rev- 
erend Ithaman Pillsburg, 1845-48; Reverend 
W. W. Bockus, 1850-51; Reverend S. T. 
Wilson, 1852-54; Reverend Thomas M. Ches- 
nut, 1855-56; Reverend Jacob Coon, 1858-63; 
Reverend W. W. ]\Ioreheail, Doctor of Divin- 
ity, 1863-71 : Reverend Moses Noerr, Doctor 
of Divinity, 1871-77; Reverend S. T. Davis, 
Doctor of Metlicine. 1878-79; Reverend G. B. 
Black, 1879-81; Reverend S. T. McClure, 
1881-83; Reverend C. F. Carson, 1883-88; 
Reverend Watson Russell, 1889-90; Reverend 
W. B. McKee, 1890-93; Reverend D: T. 
Rol)ertson, 1894-97; Reverend H. W. Reherd, 
1897-1901; Reverend Marion Humphreys, 
1901-05; Reverend H. Cullen, Doctor of 
Divinity, ]iresent pastor, began his work 
October 1, 1905. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF 
MILAN. 

Reverend F. Haney first held service here, 
as one of the .stations on the Camden circuit, 
and was followed by Reverend John Grundy, 
who remained two years. The church was 
organized in 1848, and preaching was done 
iu the school house, until 1854, when the 
cliurch was built. 

ANDALUSIA CHURCHES. 

The earliest meetings of the Methodist 
Episco])al (.'hurch Society were held during 
1849, at the resilience of Mrs. Sarah Buffum. 
At this time there were only al)out seven 
church members of all denominations in the 
t!)wnshi]), and ministers were doing mission- 
ary work. Suljseriuently their meetings were 
held in various places, until the organization 
of the class at the residence of Joseph Garnett, 
at Sulpliur Springs, in the Fall of 1858. The 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



201 



oriiiinal members were: Mrs. Sarali J5uffum, 
Elizabeth Eby, F. A. Cobb, Josejih Garnett, 
Mrs. Clara W. Ferguson and Mrs. Susan 
Garnett, at which time W. J. Giddings was 
jiastor, succeeded by lvc\-er('nil Mr. I.iiitlic- 
cum, and Reverentl .Mr. Welsh in ls.5'.). 
During their pastorate, the district school 
house was improved for I lie Haptist Churcli, 
and there they held tlicii' meetings. The 
lve\'ereiKls Ashbaugh and liichmond in INGl; 
J. W. Barteles in 1,S04, and Mr. Martin in 
IS(i."). In 1S66 the society built a house of 
woi'ship, which was dedicate<l in March. 1.S67. 

The first church of tiie I'nilod l^rcfhein in 
Ciu'ist, of Andalusia, held theii' hrst meetings 
in the Summer of ISOo in the district school 
house, the Pieverend .lolm W'cngcr preaching 
the first sermon; meetings only being hold 
occasionally. It was m.'iinly tiu'ough the 
influence of H. S. Thompson .-md wife the 
services were had, and led to tlie organization 
of the church by Reverend Sanuiel Knox in 
September, 1864, at the s<'liool house. H. S. 
Thomjison and wife. M. M. 'i'honipson and 
Cynthia Smith were tiie original four members. 
H. S. Thompson was the first class leader and 
steward. The pastorate of the church was 
first filled by Reverend S.amuel Knox. l\e\-- 
erend St. Clair Ross, dui'ing his pastorate in 
1S6S, devised means for building a suitable 
house of worshiji. The Sabiiath school main- 
tained by this churcli, had its origin in a 
Cnion Sabbath school organized May 1, 1S59. 
A.s the various churches grew strong enough, 
denominational Sabbath schools were estab- 
lished. 

The First Baptist Cliurch of ,\ndalusia held 
their first metings in lS(i7. I'ni'suaiit t(i a 
business meeting of the Haptist Chin-ch held 
at Ivlgington the second Saturday in No\-om- 
bei', ISIifi, authorizing the members of the 
church I'esiiling in Andalusia and \icinity, to 
form a separate organization. .\ meeting 
was called at Andalusia May 1, l.S(i7. lor the 
purpose of forming a chuic-h org;iniz:itiiui, 
which was done the e\ening of Ma\' 1."), IN(i7, 



with a mendiership of twenty-five. They 
succeeded in ])ro\iding a suitable meeting 
house at a cost of about S2,0(}0, on a lot 
donated by S. M. Boney and others. Rev- 
erend O. T. Conger was the first ]iastor, fol- 
lowed by Re\'eren(ls J. C. i'ost, Mr. Lamb, of 
Davenport, Iowa; James Yoimg, S. 1). Ross, 
Gilman Parker, Thomas A. Williams. 

DRIliV TOWXSHII' (TIURCHFS. 

.At \\'r,-iy \ille the German Methodists have 
a church, built in 1X75, at a cost of $1,000. 
Tliey also ha\c a parsonage, in which the 
Reverend Cai'well resides. 

Near I'ost ei- the Haptists ha\-e a house of 
worship, built .about IS71, through the efforts 
of their first pastoi', Hexcrend K. Odell. A 
])arsonage was built for the occu|iaiu'y of the 
])astor, who is now He\'erend Spiller. 

KDGIXGTOX CIUHCUKS. 

The i'l'esbyterian Chm-ch, oi'gaiiized in the 
Dunlap cabin in the f':dl of ls;i7, was the 
first church organizeil in Ivlgington. Joseph 
Dunlap and D.nniel .Montg(unery were the 
first elders. The organization was effected 
by Reverend .hihn .Xhuilgomery, an itinerant 
home mission.ary , by ;i|ipninl nieiit of the 
Presbytery of Schiiylci-. Church services 
wn-o held for se\-eral yeais once a month, or 
at long intervals, in the Duidap cabin during 
Winter months and in llu' barn in Summer. 
Reverend .Inhn Montgomery, the first minis- 
ter, was a brother of Daniel Montgomery. 
The MoMtgomeries came from Pennsylvania 
in 1S3C; Daniel loc.-iting "far out on the 
]irairie," on secti(ui twenty-six, and his 
brothel', .lohii, the missionai'v over in Mercer 
county. In those days tluM'e was a common 
brotherhood and sisterhood among the jieople 
of all professions. They came long distances, 
in big wag(Uis, to church, some with ox teams, 
some on horseback, and some (Ui foot. Church 
coiu'tesies were not gilt edged, nor silk fringeil. 
Worshipers did not stand aloof until intro- 
duced Ijefore speaking to one another. The 



202 



HISTO R%C ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



social gulf was narrow and easily bridged by 
a hearty handshake and "howdy-do." Dur- 
ing the years 1843-44 a church was built 
twenty-two by forty feet in dimensions. 
Most of the material of wliich it was built 
was taken out of the timber surrounding it. 
The church thus built had added to it in 
18.59 a vestibule, gallery antl tower. The 
church had no settled minister for years. 
Those who served the longest terms, either 
as pastor or supply were Reverends Samuel 
Cleland, A. W. Loomis, Jesse M. Jamison, 
Thomas M. Wilson and Thomas R. Johnson. 
The pastorate of the latter began May 28, 
1803, and contiiuied until June, 1904, making 
a pastorate of thirty-nine years, louring the 
ministry of Mr. Johnson the community 
developed and enjoved a great measure of 
prosperity. In this the church shared. This 
materialized in the present church building, 
which was erected in 1896. This is one of 
the finest and most commodious churches in 
the country. It has a seating capacity of 
about four hundred. It is jirovided with 
Sunday school rooms, cloak room, vestibide 
and gallery. There is also a very comfortable 
house near by. Since December 1 , 1 904, 
Reverend J. L. Herming has been the jiastor 
in charge; Reverend T. R. Johnson being 
pastor emeritus. 

The first Methodist preaching was by 
itenirant missionaries — James Smith, Jordan 
and McMurtrie, 1836-40 — at the resilience of 
Charles Eberhart. A class was regularly 
organized in June, 1843, with H. H. Parks 
as leader. In 1854 they erected a commo- 
dious house of worship by the roadside, one 
and three-fourth miles east of the village of 
Edgington, and named it Zion. It is still 
occupied and ke]>t in good repair. 

The Baptist Church was organized in 1846, 
and a house of worship built about one- 
eighth of a mile east of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. It was sold to a farmer some 
years ago and a new house built at Taylor 
Ridge. The meeting at which the organiza- 



tion was effected was held in a barn of George 
D. Parmenter, in the village of Edgington, 
August 10, 1846, and the Rerevend Mr. 
Brabrooks preached the sermon. Reverend 
Clark, of Mercer County, was the first regular 
minister, and in the capacity of pastor served 
the congregation imtil 1848. 

The Catholic Church. Through tlie fifties 
and sixties a priest from a distant parish, 
Rock Island or elsewhere, visited the families 
occasionally and held services in the homes. 
Then a frame house was built for worship by 
the roadsiile, o]:)]iosite and a little north of 
the Presbyterian church, and services are 
still held there once a month, and the ordi- 
nances administered, and pastoral work done 
by a non-resident priest. 

FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS. 



THE FRATERNAL TRIBUNES. 

The home offices of The Fraternal Tribunes, 
a fraternal insurance society having a luitional 
reputation, are located in Pi,ock Island, and 
the society occupies the entire second story 
of the Carse Building. This is a Rock Island 
institution of growing importance, having 
been organized in 1897, in whicli year a 
charter was received from the State of Illinois' 
and its lodges now number up into the hund- 
reds and are located in the thriving cities and 
towns of this and other states. The growth 
of The Fraternal Tribunes on January 1, 
1908, was in excess of 11,000 members, and 
the society has paid in death and disability 
benefits over $425,000. In its scope the 
society is pm-eh' a fraternal beneficiary order, 
having a representative form of government 
and conducting its business upon the lodge 
l^lan, and it admits men and women for 
insurance benefits in the sum of •'$250, ■'8500, 
$1,000 or $2,000, each individual age at entry 
determining the cost to the insured. The 
present su])reme officers are as follows: 
Honoralile T. J. Medill, past supreme tribune 
Rock Island, 111.; K. M. Whitham, supreme 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



203 



tribune, Aledi), Illinois: lldmirnhle W. C. 
(lalldway, vice-suprcinc trihiiiie, Aledo, llli- 
iKiis; Robert Rexdale, supreme secretary, 
I{ock Island, Illinois; Harold A. Weld, su- 
[irenie treasui'er. Rock Island, Illinois; Hon- 
oral>le .lames ^IcCartney, suiirinue counsellor, 
Chicago, Illinois; Doctor A. L. Craisi'. su])reme 
medical examiner, ("liica,i;o, Illinois; (iilbert 
Miller, supreme orator. Canton, Illinois; L. 
M. C'am])lKdl, supreme serncant-at-arms, 
Peoria, Illinois; Sadie l>. Milh'r, supreme 
Suard, Chicafjo, Illinois; Iv L, Wolff, supreme 
sentinel, Aledo, Illinois. 

BENEVOLP]NT AND I'ROTIK'Tl Vf] 
ORDER OF ELKS. 

The Rock Island I.odsi'e, No. !)S(), of the 
l)rotherhood of Elks was orjianized June 20, 
1U()5, with a membership of fifty-five; at the 
jn'csent time (September, 190S) it numljers 
three hundred and twenty-five. Their first 
(inarter.'s were o\-er the Illinois Theatre. 
January 31, 1908, they moved to new quarters 
in f he new Elks Building on Eighteenth Street 
near the ri^•er front, whei'e they occnjiy two 
stories, and lia\"e a lodge room, club room, 
and accompaniments, as fine as any in the 
State. Dejiarting from their old home, four 
hundred Elks formed in line and marched to 
their new home with the baml playing " Auhl 
l.ang Syne." The fundamental ])rinciples of 
the order are charity and benevolence. Their 
.salutation cry is " Hello Bill." 

ARSENAL COUNCIL, NO. 171. 

Arsenal Council of this city was organized 
in August, 1SS.5, and its first officers were: 
President, H. D. Mack; vice-president, ('. E. 
Hawley, sjieaker, Robert B>ennett; ex-presi- 
dent, S. W. Raines,, secretary, VV. J. Kalilke; 
fimmcial secretary, M. A. Patterson ; sergeant, 
financial'secretary, M. A. Patterson ; treasurer. 
.1. H. Cleland; medical examiner. Doctor (i. 
L. Kyster; chaplain, A. W. Tanner; usher, 
M. Kuehlnian; sergeant W. P. ('ochran; 
trustees, E. H. Bowman. H;u'r\- ('le\eland 



and (leorge Phillips. .Many of the first 
charter members and ollicers are still members 
at present, some have died and a few have 
dropped out. The Nati(mal Union teaches 
liatriotism and tri(>s (o lift its mendjers up to 
a higher sphere of life, and is one of the best 
fraternal orgainzations in existance today. 
It is an assessment fraternal organization, 
having a death benefit, .nnd .also gives insur- 
ance on the step rate plan, and straight life. 
Headquarters are in Toledo, Ohio. 

Till-; T( 1!.\' \ EREIN. 

The Hock Island Turn X'crein, or the 
Turner Society, as it is commonly styleil, is 
one of the best known and most substantial 
organizations in the city. Its origin dates 
l)ack to A|)ril KJ. 1N.")7. when it was known 
as the Turn (lemeindc If was incorporated 
in ISdO. Diu'ing I he liine thai has inter- 
vened there li.-is b(>en but (Uie I'cal crisis in its 
affairs. That was happily tided o\-er and 
since that lime its gi-owth li.'is been steady 
and sufficient. 

John Imber, a, shoemakei-, upmi coming to 
this city diu'ing the fifties, began .agitating the 
([uestion of such an org.anization among the 
( lerman residents. He aroused about twenty- 
five of his fellow countrymen and the society 
was formed. Julius Mosenfelder, the grocer, 
was the first president, John Wright, who was 
once employetl in the mechanical (lejiartment 
of The AripiR. was the first secretary, and 
Mr. Imber the first turnwoi't, or leader of the 
classes in physical culture. 

.'^t first the society had no building in which 
to meet, but the lot at the northeast corner 
of Twenty-first Street and Sixth Avenue was 
l.xiught and fenced in and the exercises were 
held in the open air during the first season. 
Rooms on the sccimd Hoor of a Inulding on 
Market S(piare, back of the P>engston Block, 
were then leased for .-i c juple of years. Here 
the first drannitic undei'takings were put on 
in the Wint(M- of lS.")S-r)U. The next meeting 
place was in a building which occupied thp 



204 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



site of the new Hotel Harms. After a few 
years another change was made to the 
Empire Hall, as it was then known, located 
over 1506 Second Avenue. 

The lot now owned l)y the society, and 
occupied by its [present quarters on the south 
side of Third Avenue west of Sixteenth Street, 
was acquired in 1866. The wooden building, 
known as Turner Hall, had Jjeen in use as the 
church of the Episcojial congregation of tlie 
city, being abandoned upon tlie erection of 
the church now occupied. The l)rick gym- 
nasium in the rear of the hall was put up 
about fifteen years ago at a cost of $2,000, 
and the brick structure which now constitutes 
the main building was put u]i nine years ago 
at a cost of $14,000. The property of the 
society is now valued at $35,000. 

It was in 1S59 that the membership was 
reduced, through a schism, to nine, but it has 
grown since till at the present time it numbers 
1,000. There is also a Ladies' Turner 
Society, with tliirty-five members, that is 
maintained as an auxiliary to the main society. 

The quarters are provided, in addition to 
the hall and a well equipped gymnasium, with 
nicely furnished club rooms, including a 
library of seven hundred volumes of works 
in German and English. 

FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES. 

One of our most interesting societies is that 
of the Eagles. The Far West has the dis- 
tinction of the origin of The Fraternal Order 
of Eagles. Its principles of liberty, truth, 
justice and equality, ai^peal to the most 
conservative people of the country. The 
benefits to the member are: a physician to 
himself and family free of charge, one dollar 
a day sick benefit for sixteen weeks, and one 
hundred dollars in case of death. 

Rock Island Aeria, No. 956, Fraternal 
Order of Eagles, was instituted January 15, 
1905, at the Rock Island Turner Hall. Its 
charter list was comjjosed of one hundred 
and thirty-one mendjers. Oloff Banker was 



its first president; A. D. Huesing, vice-pres- 
ident ; J. F. Dindinger, secretary and, E. V. 
Ramser, treasurer. It is financially strong, 
although having exjiended a large sum for 
benefits and other jjurposes. 

Its present memi)erstiip (September, 1908) 
is four hundred and forty-six. 

This association last Spring purchased the 
Murrin homestead on the south-west corner 
of Fotu'th Avenue and Twenty-first Street; a 
s]ilendid location for the home, where they 
contemplate building; including lodge room, 
club room, reading rooms, and the necessary 
accessories. 

THE MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA, 

One of the most important Rock Island 
institutions is the head office building of the 
Modern Woodmen of .America. In the Rock 
Island building, erected and furnished at an 
expense of more than $425,000 are constantly 
employed an average force of two hundred 
people, with a monthly pay roll of over 
$15,000, It will thus be seen that aside from 
the value as an advertisement to the city 
and county the society is a most valued 
financial institution, bringing to the locality 
a most desirable class of citizens who are 
connected with it. 

The Modern Woodmen of .America is a 
fraternal beneficiary society, incorporated 
imder the laws of the State of Illinois, May 
5, 1884. It began business, however, and 
started as a fraternal beneficiary society with 
the organization of its first camp January 5, 
1883, at the town of Lyons, Clinton County, 
Iowa. Its first camp was composed of 
twenty-one charter members and was insti- 
tuted by Mr. Joseph Cullen Root. It is by 
far the largest fraternal beneficiary society 
in America, having on July 1, 1907, a mem- 
bershi]) in good standing of 851,441 bene- 
ficial members and 39,796 social members, or 
a grand total membership of 891,237. On 
this date it had 11,797 local camps of lodges 
distributed in the following states: 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



205 



Arizona, California. Colorado, Connoi-ticut, 
Delaware, District of Coli;nil.)ia, Idnlm, Illi- 
nois, Indiana, Indian Territory, Iowa, Kansas, 
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mieliifian, Min- 
nesota, Missouri, Montana, Neliraska, Nevada, 
New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, 
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode 
Island, vSouth Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, 
Utah, Vermont, \'iri;inia, Washington, West 
Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. 

The society's principal piu'pose is to pro- 
vide substantial death benefits for the widows, 
orphans and other dejiendents of deceased 
members, ami for this, piu'pose it issues to 
accc])tcd meiiibci's jjolicies or certificates of 
insurance, and incidentally affords valuable 
fraternal jirivileges and advantages to all its 
members while living. It has unusually 
strong and attractive fraternal i'eatiu-es. Its 
ritualism is beautiful, entertaining, instruc- 
ti\e and liclpful. Its local camps or lodges 
care for (heir sick and do all in tlieii' power to 
rclic\(' members in distress. Many local 
cam])S pay sick benefits and mosl local c.-imps 
have committees to care for the sick and dis- 
tressed, and in countless ways co-operate in 
the pr<im()tion of the interests of theii' mcm- 
bei's, anil in carrying out in fullest measure 
the sublime doctrines and teachings of co- 
operation ami fcllowshi]!. Its plan of co- 
operation is of the siiuplest form, and yet in 
its vast business it has a system of methods 
in its \'arious departments which is uusui'- 
passe<l in the great commercial organiza- 
tions of the country. 

The management of this society is ])ro- 
gressive, economic and business like. It has 
a representative form of go\-ernment in which 
tlie voice of tl;e indi\'i(liual member reaches 
the administration of the society's affairs 
through a delegate .system, including ti'i- 
ennial meetings of delegates from local camps 
to county conventions, and delegates from 
these county conventions in turn to state 
conventions, and delegates from these state 



con-\-entions to the National convention, or 
Head Cam|:), which is the legislative and 
controlling body of the organization. At its 
triennial head camps laws and rules are 
adopted and prescribed for the management, 
control and regulation of the society, as well 
as defining the privileges and powers, rights 
and duties of its members and officers. At 
its triennial head camps the various officers 
of the society are elected. 

The plan of collecting and disbursing mor- 
tality benefits prescribed in its contracts is 
of the simplest form, fiu'nishing protection or 
insurance at actual cost; the membership 
being called upon to pay such assessments 
from month to month to the Mortality or 
benefit fund, as its board of directors shall 
from time to time find necessary and desirable 
to meet the claims against such fiUKl, occa- 
sioned by the current or monthly deaths 
among its mendjership, thus reipiiriug from 
its mendjers the paynient of only that amcumt 
which is necessary to meet its death 
aims. 

The expenses of conducting the business of 
the society aside from the ]iayment of death 
claims are met from the general fund, which 
is sejiarate and distinct at all times from the 
l)enefit or mortality fund, and which fund is 
UKide u[i of contributions for expense pur- 
])oses from its meml)ership in the nature of a 
]ier ca]iita tax, which is fixed and levied by 
the head camp of the society. Since lNi)() 
this contribution has been one dollar per 
nicndicr per year, out of \vhich has Ijcen paid 
all the expense of conducting the vast business 
of this society. 

The result of this simple plan of "cooper- 
ation and protection" has been the most 
]ilienomenal in develo]mient of any like con- 
cern in American history. .The following 
statement taken from the records of the 
society shows the nund^er of benefit certifi- 
cates issued yearly since organization u]) to 
and including the year 1906: 



206 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



1883 


562 


1895 


55,423 


1884 


. . _ 788 


1896 

1897 

isgs. ... 


65,000 


188.5 

1886 


3,694 

4,706 


68,829 

92,911 


1887 


8,139 

11,943 


1899 ... 


135,644 


1888. 


1900 

1901 ... 


142,864 


1889 


19,9.50 


- -- 133,415 


1890 


12,354 


1902 


... 94,068 


1891 


14,384 


1903 


63.158 



1892 25,139 1904 81,718 

1893 24,385 1905 103,2.54 

1894 38,.563 1906 132,729 

From .January 1, to July 1, 1907, there 
have been written 81,268 certificates, malcing 
a grand total of certificates written in this 
society from its organization down to July 
1, 1907, 1,414,852. 

The society has had a most successful 
career financially, as well as in its growth and 
influence as a fraternal society. Its plan of 
payment of death losses has always provided 
ample means for the prompt settlement of all 
death claims, and since its organization it has 
paid out in death losses the magnificent sum 
of more than $59,000,000. 

The first member to die in this society was 
Mr. Ab. Mayer, of Daveni)ort, Iowa, on July 
14, 1884, 

The average age of the meniljcrship of the 
society is 38,23 years. 

The death rate for tlie last ten years per 
one thousand members is as follows: 1897, 
4.35; 1898, 4.32; 1899, 4.91; 1900, 4.64; 1901, 
4.84; 1902, 4.84; 1903, 5.03; 1904, 5.65; 1905, 
5.43; 1906, 5.48. 

It accepts to membership in this society 
male white persons between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five, e.xcept that if the 
applicant be over forty-one years of age he 
cannot carry l)enefits to exceed $2,000. All 
applicants for membership are required to 
pay a membership fee of five dollars, and the 
cost of medical examination, ^'arying from 
$1.25 to .$2.25. 

Its field work is under the management of 
the head consul of the society, who ajjpoints 
a state deputy head consul for each state, 
who in turn appoints district deputy head 
consuls f(ir certain territorj' or districts in a 
state, who give personal attention to the 



details of securing members for the local 
lodges in the various localities. 

The financial management of the society 
is under the control of a board of directors, 
consisting of five members, while the head 
clerk is the recording and accounting officer. 
The head banker has the custody of the 
funds and no money can be paid out by him, 
except upon orders signed by the head consul, 
the head clerk and at least three members of 
the board of directors. 

In the adoption of social members only no 
medical examination fee is recjuired. Pay- 
ment by members to the mortuary fund is 
according to rates established by the head 
camp and are graded according to the age 
at the time of joining the society. The rates 
do not increase with advancing age, and 
during recent years it has not been necessary 
for the board of directors to levy an assess- 
ment each month in ortler to meet the current 
death losses. 

Certificates are isssued in this society in the 
amounts of .$,500; $1,000; $1,500; .$2,000; and 
$3,000, as the aiiplicant may desire. 

Tlie officers of local camps are consul (pre- 
siding officer), past consul, clerk (recording 
officer), banker, adviser, escort, watchman, 
sentry, board of three managers, and exam- 
ining physicians. 

Oreat care is taken in determining tha 
physical soundness of applicants for mem- 
bership in this society. Each applicant is 
examined as to. his physical condition by the 
local camp physician, after which the appli- 
cation is forwarded to a state physician who 
reviews the examination of the local exam- 
iner, and such state physician, after passing 
upon the applicant by either approving or 
rejecting him, forwards the application, to- 
gether with the record of such approval or 
rejection to the board of supreme medical 
directors, which board is composed of three 
eminent physicians, selected and appointed 
by the executive council of the society. This 
supreme Medical board again reviews the 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



207 



iipi)lir;itiiiii so fai' ;is it rchifes to the niclical 
examination and opinion of l)otli the local 
examiner and the State examiner, and action 
of the .suiireiiie medical board, cither in 
ajiprovinij or rejecting' the application, is 
final, except in enicrgenc_v cases only, when 
the execntive council, for S|)eci,al cause, may 
ask a reconsideration and examination of the 
applicant by the supreme medical lioar(l. 

The head camp of the .society is held at 
wliatever place in the jurisdiction the ]n-e- 
ceding head camp selects. 

At the time of the organization of Pioneer 
Camp, No. 1, on Januar}' 5, 1S,S;5, the first 
])rovisional head cam]) was organized, and 
the following officers elected: 

Head consul, J. C. Root, Lyons, Iowa; head 
banker, Louis C!. Blaine, Lyons, Iowa; head 
clerk, Alliert Hilton, Lyons, Iowa. 

The first regular head cam]i, however, wa.s 
held in .Jmie, iSSo, at Fulton, Illinois. At 
this head camp five local camps were repre- 
sented l)y fifteen delegates, aiul the first fun- 
damental laws wei'e adopted. The head 
camp officers elected at this nuM'ting were as 
f(jllows: 

Head consul, .1. ('. Itoot, Lyons, Iowa; head 
ad\user, lO. I). Leiand, Lenark, Illinois; head 
clerk, Albert Hilton. Lyons, Iowa; head 
banker, A. M. (irecn, IMt. Cai'i'oll, Illinois; 
head escort, CL B. Jackson, Ta.mpico, Illinois; 
head watchman, Harrison Frazier, Lyons, 
Iowa; head sentry, CI. (luernsey, iM'ie. Illinois; 
heatl managers, C. C. Farmer, i\It. Cai'roll, 
Illinois; S. H. Zimmerman, Polo, Illinois; ,1. 
,L Ward, Sterling. Illinois. 

The seventh heatl cam]) met in S]ii'ingfield, 
Illinois, on the morning of November II, 
INiK). There were nine hinidi'ed and sixty- 
one delegates ]iresent, including the head 
officers, and standing committees, i'e]iresent- 
ing 42,o(H) members and 1,491 cam])s. 

Prior to this head cam]) meeting, serious 
differences of o]iiidon existerl among the then 
head officers as to methods of conducting I lie 
business of the society. At this meeting the 



entire fundamental laws of the society were 
re-written and the society itself jiractically 
reorganized on new and different lines and 
l)lans of operation; none of the former head 
officers were re-elected, but new officers were 
selected from the heail cam]) delegates to 
contluct the business of the society, vijjon the 
new ])lan and under the laws i)romuIgated 
and ado])ted at this meeting. In this head 
camp laws were adopted ])roviding for the 
holding of state head camps, and more com- 
l)lete and satisfactory form of rei)resentative 
government. The officers elected at this head 
cam]) were as follows: 

Head consul, William A. Northcott, Green- 
ville, Illinois; head adviser, H. C. Hedges, 
Lansing, Michigan; head clerk, Charles Wesley 
Hawes, Rock Island, Illinois; head I)anker, 
David C. Zink, Grand Island, Nebraska; head 
]3hysician, Doctor Frank Swallow, Valley 
Falls, Kansas; head Chaplain, Reverend F. 
F. Farmiloe, Genoa, Illinois; head escort, W. 
H. Dawson, Slayton, Minnesota-; head sentry, 
L. E. Mentch, Carey, Illinois; head watch- 
man, L. H. Hasse, Elgin, Illinois; board of 
directors, M. W. Matthews. Url)ana, Illinois; 
A. R. Talbot, Lincoln, Nebraska;. I. W. AVhite, 
Tami)ico, Illinois; ('. T. Heyilecker, Wauke- 
g.an. Illinois; J. G. Johnson, PeaI)ody, Kansas. 

The eighth head cam]) was held in Omaha, 
Nel)raska, in February, 1S92. There were 
]')resent one hundred and twenty-seven head 
officers, mcml)crs of standing committees, 
and delegates, re])resenting 1,7,S2 cam])s, with 
a membershi]) of 68.007. At this head cam]) 
the Royal Neighbors of America was, Ijy 
resolution, accej)ted as the ladies' auxiliary 
of the Modern Woodmen of America. 

In the interim between the meeting of the 
head camp at Springfield, Illinois, antl the 
head cam]) at Omaha, Ncl)raska, Honorable 
M. W. Mathews, chairman of the l)oard of 
directors, died, and General Jasjier N. Reece, 
of S|)ringfield, Illinois, was a])i)ointed to fill 
the vacancy caused by the death of Senator 
Mathews. 



208 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Tlie ninth licad cnmp met in convention in 
Madison, Wisconsin, in June, 1(895, with two 
hnndred and seventy-three delegates, liead 
officers and committeemen, rejiresentinp; '2,S4U 
camps and 125,667 members. At this head 
cam]) meeting the basis of representation on 
acconnt of the rapid growth of the society 
was changed to one ilelegate for each 1,00(1 
members, and one delegate at large from each 
state. Among the great questions considered 
at this meeting was that of the change of 
rates of the society; and the estal)lishment or 
recognition of the forester teams in camp work. 

The tenth head camp met in Dubuqne, 
Iowa, in June, 1807, witli two hundred and 
forty-two delegates, head officers and com- 
mitteemen present, representing 208,292 mem- 
bers and 4,436 camps. At this liead cam]) 
meeting the laws were changed so as to pro- 
vide for twelve head physicians, instead of 
five as formerly. 

At this head camp there was created the 
executive council of the society, com])osed of 
the head consul, the head clerk, antl boartl 
of directors, to which body the head consid 
anil other officers of the society might at 
any time a])])eal for counsel ami aihice in 
any matter pertaining to the administration 
of the affairs of his de])artment. 

The eleventh heatl cam]) met in Kansas 
City, Missouri, in June, 1899, with three 
hundred and eighty-three delegates, head 
officers and memiiers of standing committees 
present, re])resenting 5,863 cam]is and 339,364 
members. At this meeting the board of heatl 
physicians was increased from twelve to 
nineteen, and the board of auditors was 
increased from three to five. 

At the July, 1899, meeting of the executive 
council, following the Kansas City head 
cam]), J. W. White resigned as director and 
was appointed general attorney. At the 
same meeting the executive council appointed 
E. E. Murphy, of Leavenworth, Kansas, as 
director to fdl the vacancy caused by the 
resignation of Mr. White. 



The twelfth head cam]) met in St. Paul, 
Minnesota, on June 1 1 , 1901 , with six hundred 
and twenty-nine delegates, head officers and 
members of standing committees in attend- 
ance, representing 8,980 camps and 568,181 
members. At this head camp meeting the 
number of head i^hysicians was increased to 
])ro\-ide one head physician for each state. 
The basis of representation in this growing 
society was again modified and fixed at one 
delegate for each 1,500 members or major 
fraction thereof, in good standing, in camps 
of each state, on January 1, preceding head 
camp. At this head camp the question of 
rates was again considered, and a committee 
was appointed to employ actuaries and 
assistance to consider carefully the question 
in all of its phases and the condition of the 
society, and make its report to the executive 
council which in turn should publish it to 
the jurisdiction. At this meeting Honorable 
William A. Northcott, who had served so 
long and faithfully as head consul of the 
society, annouiu'ed to the head camp and the 
jurisdiction, that because of the condition of 
his health it would be ini])ossible for him to 
accei)t another term of office from the society, 
and he would not, therefore, be a candidate 
to succeed himself at the end of the term 
which he was elected to serve. 

In the interim l)etween the twelfth head 
cam]) and the thirteenth head camj) occurred 
the great discussion throughout the jurisdic- 
tion among the officers and members of local 
and subordinate camps the question of re- 
adjustment of rates, based upon the report 
of the committee appointed at the St. Paul 
head camp, so that the thirteenth head camp, 
which convened at Indianapolis, Indiana, 
on June 16, 1903, might be considered the 
most critical and important head camp thus 
far in the history of the society. At this 
head cam]i five hundred and thirty-seven 
delegates, head officers and members of 
standing committees were {present, represent- 
ing 10,589 camps with a membership of 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



200 



(3S2,(K19. Tlio most importniit matfor l)of()re 
tliis li(':iil i-aiii|) was tlic (lisciissiim ami action 
upon the I'cport of tlic St. Paul head camp 
coniiuiKcc on re\'ision of rates, .'\fter se^'ei'al 
(lays (U'liherate consideration and earnest and 
oft-times l>itter debate the liead camp 
adopteil a new table of rales for the .society, 
which ha.s l)eeii the basi.s of mortuary contri- 
bution to the society '.s benefit fund liy its 
members since, and is as follows: 



Age at Nearest B'dy 


$500 


$1000 


$1,500 


$2000 


$3000 


l.S to 2.'5 years inc 


.? .25 


$ ..50 


$ .75 


$1.00 


$1.50 


2(1 to 27 years inc 


.30 


.55 


.85 


1.10 


1.65 


2S to 29 years inc 


.30 


.00 


.90 


1.20 


1.80 


30 to 31 years inc 


.35 


.05 


1.00 


1.30 


1.95 


32 to 33 years inc 


.35 


.70 


1.05 


1.40 


2.10 


34 to 3.5 years inc 


.40 


.75 


1.15 


1..50 


2.25 


36 to 37 years inc 


.40 


.80 


1.20 


1.00 


2.40 


38 to 39 years inc 


.45 


.85 


1.30 


1.70 


2.55 


40 to 41 years inc 


.45 


.90 


1.35 


l.SO 


2.70 


42 to 43 years inc. _ - 


.51) 


.95 


1.45 


1.90 




44 to 45 years inc 


.50 


1.00 


1.50 


2.00 






At this head cam]! Honorable William A. 
Noi'thcott. head consul, in carryin.u out his 
announced pm-posc and plan at the pre\'ious 
head camji, dechued fo be a candidate for 
re-election, and .Xdolphus U. Talbot, of 
Lincoln, .Nebraska, was elecled head cousid 
to succeed him. 

At this head camp the ollice <if ]iast head 
consul was created, and former head consul 
\\'illiam A. Northcott was made past consul, 
and member of tlie head caui|i of this society 
for life, out of recofjiiition for the distin.nuished 
ser\-ices he had rendered the society. 

The fourteenth head camp met at Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin, ,June 20, 1905, with four 
liundretl and sex'enty-six delegates, re])re- 
senting 10,736 cani])s and 693,425 members. 
At this meeting of the lieail camp the law 
was changed so that the head camp met 
triennially instead of biennially, ami special 
rates were provided for hazardous occupa- 
tions. The following officers were elected at 
this head camp meeting, who are its present 
head officers: 



Head consul, Adolphus II. Talbot, Lincoln, 
Nebraska; jiast head consul, William A. 
Northcott, Springfield, Illinois; head clerk, 
C!hai-les \V. Hawes. Rock Island, Illinois; 
head adxiser, Dan H. Home, Davenport, 
Iowa; head banker, ('. H. McNider, Ma.son 
City, Iowa; liead escort, C. I). Elliott, Seattle, 
Washington; heafi sentry, W. E. Beachley, 
Hagerstown. Maryland; heatl watchman, 
George L. I'owman, Kingfisher, Oklahoma; 
head chaplain. Reverend Hem-y N. Dunning, 
Albany, New York. I'oai'd of directors — 
R. n. Smith, Hrookfield, Missouri; R. E. 
Murphy, Leaven wortli, Kansas; George W. 
Reilly, Danville, Illinois; A. N. Hort, Beloit, 
Wisconsin ; C'. J. Byrns, Ishjieming, Michigan. 
Supreme medical board — Doctor K. ]j. Kerns, 
chairman. Rock Island, Illinois; Doctor F. A. 
Smith, Rock Island. Illinois; Doctor B. E. 
Jones, Rock Island. Illinois. Aiipointed — 
F. O. \iui (iahler, editor, i{ock IslamI, Illi- 
nois; B. D. Smith, general attorney, Mankato, 
Minnesota; Truman I'lantz, general attorne3', 
Warsaw, Illinois. 

Tlie next triennial head camp of this 
society will meet in June, 190S, at Peoria, 
I lliuois. 

The head c;iiup meeting in Omaha, in 1S92, 
directed the head officers to move the head 
ollice from Fulton to Rock Islaml. For 
nearly fi\X' years e\-ery effort, on the part of 
the head officers to com])ly with the direc- 
tions of the head camp in such remo\-;d w^as 
thwarted by the acti\'ity of the citizens of 
Fulton by injiuiction proceedings and re- 
straining ortlers of the various courts against 
such removal. In the fidlness of time, how- 
ever, hearings were had upon all such pro- 
ceedings and the Court's final decision 
authorized the head officers to carry out the 
expressed wish and will of the head camp in 
removing such head office to Rock Island. 
The removal occurred in September, 1897, 
and the new and commodious head office 
l)uilding was completed and occupied by the 
society some two years later, since which 



210 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



time this great society lias lieen a jiart of tlie 
life and business acti\-ity (jf Rock Island 
County. 

The head office of this society at Rock 
Island, Illinois, has one of the most com- 
modious and appropriate fire-proof buildings 
of modern times. It has been constructed 
at an expense of more than $350,000, is 
thoroughly equip])cd with steel fm-niture and 
file bo.xes, and is one of the safest and strong- 
est buildings that can possibly be constructed 
of stone, brick antl steel beams. It is beauti- 
fully frescoed, supplied with all modern con- 
veniences and e(juipnient, and the apart- 
ments are so adjusted with reference to each 
other as to best facilitate the great work of 
this society. In this building are the offices 
of the head officers, as well as the offices of 
the general attorneys, with their complete 
law library, and the offices of the editor and 
supreme medical board. The arrangement 
of the rooms and offices in this commodiou.s 
four-story building is so complete as to light, 
ventilation and other essentials, as to make 
it everything that can be desired in tlie way 
of a complete modern office building. Here 
are employed a]>pro\imately two himdred 
and fifty clei-ks, stenographers and heads of 
departments, in connection with the business 
of this society. 

No one can measure the great power and 
influence of the Modern Woodmen among the 
|)eople of this country. Its influence and 
effect ui)on the growth and development of 
Rock Ishuul County, and its helpfulness to 
the luisiness enter]irises thei'eof is of such 
lasting benefit tliat the establishment of its 
permanent home in Rock Island is a continu- 
ing ]3leasure and satisfaction to the 
peo])le. 

ROYAI. NKICIIRORS OF AMERICA. 

The Royal Neighbors of America, as a 
fraternal beneficiary society, was twelve years 
old in March, 1907, charter having been 
granted March 21. 1S95. 



The first camp in the society — or rather 
the body from which the first camp of the 
society sprung — was organized in December, 
1888, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, as a "ladies 
auxiliary" to Hazel Camp, No. 171, Modern 
Woodmen of America. The stated purpose 
of this auxiliar}' was "to entertain and help 
increase the membershiji and encourage the 
building up of the society of the Modern 
Woodmen of America." The originators 
were the wives of the neighbors of Hazel 
camp. The}- met once a month, giving 
socials and entertainments, and these meet- 
ings continued until October, 1899, when the 
ladies determined to form a secret fraternal 
society to be officered exclusively by 
ladies. 

Thereupon, committees were appointed and 
a ritual and constitution were prepared. 
These were submitted and approved at a 
meeting held January 2, 1890. Articles of 
incorporation were next drawn, and on April 
25, 1890, the Royal Neighbors of America 
(this being the name selected for the new- 
society) was incorporated under the laws of 
the State of Iowa. The society's underlying 
|)rinciples were named as faith, modesty, 
courage, unselfishness and endin-ance, and 
their motto ex fde Inrtis, which means "firm 
by faith." 

The incorporators of the Royal Neighbors 
of America, who were also designated in the 
articles of incor]»oration as the first supreme 
officers, were; 

Miss Lillian Huff, Mrs. M. I.. Kirkland, 
Mrs. M. R. Hayden, Mrs. S. Hennessey, Mrs. 
E. F. Relknap, Mrs. J. A. Swanson and ]\Irs. 
M. M. Filbert. 

The first supreme cam]i meeting of the 
Royal Neighbors of America was held at 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, on June 26, 1890, more 
fm- the pur]iose of completing the organization 
of the supreme camp, for there were as yet no 
local camps. 

On July 3, 1890, this superme camp met 
again and reorganized into the first local 



// / ,s' r n I c R (' K 1 s l a x d c o u n t y 



211 



caiii]), wliicli was ,Ln\'('ii the name of Lilly 
Cain|). X(i. 1, (if ('(luiicil P)liiffs, Iowa. 

At a special meeting of the supreme camp, 
held April 7. 1S!)1. a resolution was unani- 
mously ailopteil |ii'o\ idinjj: for (he admi.ssion 
of men as mendiers of the Uoyal Neifjhhors 
of America. After this was done the society 
besan to show signs of life, and when tlie 
first regular supreme camp meeting was 
called to order in Council l^lufTs, Iowa, on tlie 
first Wednesday of January, 1S96, six camps 
were represented, with an aggregate mendier- 
shi]) of three hundretl. The first regular 
snjireme officers were elected at this session. 
Tlie second annual meeting of the supreme 
camp was held at Omaha, Nel)raska, Jaunary 
4 and 5, 1893, when there were eighteen 
camps, with eight hundred and fifty members 
represented. At this meeting it was decided 
to make the society more than a social and 
fraternal auxiliary of Modern Woodmen of 
America by establishing a benefit or insurance 
department, and committees were appointed 
to report at the next supreme session. 

At the fourth supreme camp meeting, held 
in Peoria, Illinois, Janu:n-y .'], 4 and o. 1.S!)4, 
there were forty-fi\'e local camps, with i , ")(i7 
members, rc])orted in good standin.g. After 
liearing the report of the committee on benefit 
plan, appointed at the ()maha meeting, the 
supreme camp decided that in order to c(un- 
plete this department il would be necessary 
f(n' the society to reincorporate in Illinois. 
To do this the society was compelled to 
change the head office of the society from 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, to some city in Illinois, 
and upon ballot, the city of Peoria was chosen. 
The matter of iiutting into ojierafiou the 
insurance feature was left with the board of 
supreme managers. The board a|)])ointed a 
beneficiary committee consisting of Major C. 
W. Hawes, head clerk, and directors J. G. 
Johnson and J. W. AMute of the .Modern 
Woodmen Society, and under the super- 
vision of these gentlemen, the Royal Neigh- 
bors of America reincorporated and estab- 



lished its benefit department substantially as 
it is today, the new charter lieing issued by 
(he Illinois insurance department on March 
21, 1895. 

The Royal Nei,gld)(n's raidc high in com- 
])arison with (he largest fraternal beneficiary 
societies in the United States, and has 
greatest prominence over all insurance socie- 
ties officereil by women. 

The society has more than 5,000 local 
cam])s in the thirty-four states comprising 
its jurisdiction. 

The Royal Neighbors of America has paid 
out in benefits, since the date of its organiza- 
tion, $4,283,527.94 to the beneficiaries of its 
deceased meml)ers. 

Death rate per 1, ()()() members in 1907 was 
5.7, and the cost per $1 ,t)00, at age thirty- 
five, was $4.95. 

The average age of (he lieneficiary member- 
ship in 1907 was thirty-seven years. During 
the j-ear 1907 there were seven hundred and 
twenty-eight deaths, and the amount of 
$730,800.44 was jiaid out in benefits. 

!( was necessary (o collect oidy nine assess- 
meii(s during 1907. 

This society admits (o membership bene- 
ficiary and social memliers of the Modern 
Woodmen of America and any white woman 
of good cliaracter, whether related to a 
Modern Woodman or not. 

Only women can hold elective offices, either 
in the su|ii'enie or local camps, with the 
excejition in local camps that men may hold 
the ]iosition of manager or physician. 

The supreme officers of the society are 
elected l)iennially l)y a nnijority vote of the 
delegates in session, one delegate representing 
a membership of 1,000. The last session was 
held in Chicago in May, 1908. 

The number of certificates issued thus far 
this year exceeds all former records, and as 
our sus]iensions are so few the additions are 
almost a clear gain. 

The su]ireme camp held at Chicago in Mav, 
1908, made manv changes in its laws, one of 



212 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the most important being the consolidation 
of the social and beneficiary departments and 
changing the location of the supreme office 
from Peoria to Rock Island, Illinois. The 
beneficiary ilepartment was formerly in the 
same building with the Modern Woodmen 
head office, but more room necessitated a 
change, and now the effects of the two offices 
heretofore located at Peoria and Rock Island 
are now installed in offices occupying the 
entire sixth floor of the Safety Building. 

At the supreme camp an appropriation was 
made to the amount of $75,000, for the 
purpose of erecting a su]ireme office building, 
which is likely to Ise started within the next 
two or three years. 

This society is now the largest of all 
women's fraternal l>ciicficiary societies; it is 
officered entirely b}- women, except that two 
men are members of the beneficiary com- 
mittee. Its president is Mrs. Lina M. Collins, 
of St. Paul, Minnesota, and its secretary 
Miss Myrtle E. Dade, of Rock Island, Illinois. 

SECRET SOCIETIES. 

MASONIC HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND 
COUNTY, ANCIENT FREE AND 
ACCI'TTED MASONS. 

Tl;(> first oi'ganization of ^Masonic lodges in 
this vicinity was a dis])ensatiou granted by 
the grand master of the grand lodge of the 
State of Illinois, in 1S47, to Cambridge lodge 
at Cambridge, Illinois. The nearest lodges 
being St. Johns, No. KJ, at Peru, LaSalle 
County; Henderscui, No. 26, Knox Coimty; 
and Monmouth, No. 37, Warren County. 
A charter was granted (ictober 4, 1S47, to 
Camliridge Lodge as No. 49, meetings to l)e 
held at Cambridge and Rock Island alter- 
nately. January 20, 1848. in comi)liance with 
the (uumimous request of Cambridge Lodge, 
a dispensation was granted to meet regularly 
at Rock Island. The distance Ijetween Cam- 
bridge and Rock Island — tliirty miles, and 
by team — was cpiite arduous and tiresome. 



Steps were taken May IS, 184S, to form a 
new lodge at Rock Island, for Rock Island 
County. When the name was considered, 
tliere was a diversity of opinion. Among 
the names proposed were Mississippi, Rock 
Island, Barrett, Buford, Illinois and Larely; 
none commanding a majority, Doctor James 
W. Brackett proposed the name of Trio, in 
honor of Rock Island, Moline and Camden 
Mills — now Milan — and the name of Trio 
was adojited. June 1, 1848, a dispensation 
was granted to Trio lodge, Rock Island, 
Illinois, and Octoljer 3, 1848, was chartered 
as Trio Lodge, No. 57. 

May 3, 1855, Fort y\rmstrong Lodge, No. 
186, was organized l\v members from Trio 
Lodge, but March 12, 1863, sin-rendered its 
cliarter and consolidated witli Trio Lodge. 
In June and July, 1870. twenty l)rethern 
withdrew from Trio Lodge to organize Rock 
Island Lodge, No. 658. Trio Lodge at its 
organization had seventeen members; now it 
has a membership of two hundred and fifty- 
fovu-. 

KOCK ISLAND LODCI;, .\'0. 658, .\. F. & A. M. 

Tliis lodge was organized and :i dispen- 
sation was issued June 29, 1870, and was 
chartered October 6, 1S70, tlie first officers 
were: 

Morris Roseufield, worshipful master; 
Charles A. Benser, senior warden; Milton G. 
Mills, junior warden; H. H. Mayo, treasurer; 
Ceorge P. Frysinger, secretary; J. W. Whit- 
nuirsh, senior deacon; Ben C. Frysinger, junior 
deacon; J. S. Drake, senior steward; James F. 
Cop]), junior steward: Thomas Thorntiui, 
tyler. 

The lodge had twenty-six charter memfiers, 
eleven of which are still ali\e. The lodge 
now has two hundred and sixteen active 
meml^ers and two honorary members. 

B.^RRETT CHAl'TER, NO. 18, R. A. M. 

Barrett Cha]iter, Royal Arch Masons, was 
chartered September 30, 1853. October 28 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



21.1 



1904, the name of the cliaiiter was changed 
to llock Ishind Chapter. The chapter meets 
in Masonic Tem]ile the first Tiieschiy of each 
month. The niemljership now (IflOS) is two 
hunih'ed and fifty. 

KVICHTS COMMAXDERV, NO. 18, KXIdllTS 
TI'.Mn.Al!, KOCK ISL_\XI\ ILLINOIS. 

I'Mrst met uii(h'r dispiMisat ion .Taimarv 10, 
ItSBi), a petition ha,vinK jirevioiisly lieen pre- 
sented to tlie grand commander of the grand 
coniiiianch'i'y of the Slate of illiuois hy \'irgil 
iM. ]}landing, I'alestiue Commandery, No. 11, 
PeniisylA'ania; .John I.in Uamsey, Ottawa 
Comnian(h'i'y, No. 10, Illinois; William 15. 
Grenelle, IJlaney Commandery, No. o, Illi- 
nois; (). S. McNeil, I.al''ayette {^ommandcry. 
No. 10, Indiana; C. Stewart Klls, J)e:\Iolay 
Commandery, No. 10, Indiana; W .E. Bow- 
man, Ottawa Commandery, No. 10, Illinois; 
I. I>. N. Jiross, OttMwa, Commandei'v, No. 10, 
Illinois; 1). S. Rawson. Ottawa, C(}mmandery, 
No. 10, Illinois; 1). W. Lirunger, Ottawa 
Commandery, No. 10. Illinois; and recom- 
mended by Peoria Commandery, No. .'5, 
Peoria, Illinois. 

The following officers were appointed l>y 
the grand commander of the grand com- 
mandery of the State of Illinois: \ irgil 
.Marion lilanding, enrinetd, commander; John 
Linn Ramsey, generalissimo; William 15. 
Crenelle, captain general; the other officens 
being apjiointed b}' the eminent commander. 
October 2.3, 1S6G, tlie connnandery was con- 
stituted and granted its charter. Its name 
was changed October 23, 1901, its thirty- 
fifth anniversary, to Ko(dc Island Command- 
ery, No. IS, and at present has a mendiership 
of two hundred and eighty-five. 

ROCK LSL.VND CH.\I'TER, NO. 209, OUDER OF 
E.\STERxX ST.VR. 

Rock Island Cliapter, Order of Ivistern 
Star, was instituted at Masonic Temple, 
April 13, 1894. Mrs. Eva M. Conover, the 
organizer, was chosen wrothy nuitron; (J. F. 



Kramer, worthy patron; and Mrs. Maria 15. 
Kinyon, associate matron. 

The first corps of officers were: Secretary, 
Lillie K. Williams; treasiu-er, Meta DeSoland; 
conductress, Zetta Oilman; associate con- 
ductress, Anna Harrington; Adah, Vashti 
BoUinan; Ruth, Myra Arnold; Esther. Clara 
Woltmann; i\Iartha, A<la Huntoon; Electa^ 
Kate A. Tuller; chaplain, Sarah Ca.mpl)ell; 
warder, Mary Rhodeidiaugh ; organist, Eliza- 
beth Volk; sentinel, L. W. Mitchell. 

In August of the same year the secretary 
i-enioved from the city, her place being filled 
by \'ashti Bolhmm. In October the charter 
was granted; the chaiiter nund>ered two 
hundretl and sixty-nine. 

The first corps of olfieers elected after the 
cha])ter was chartered was: 

Worthy matron, Eva M. Conover; worthy 
patron, O. F. Kramer; associate matron. 
Mai'ia 15. Kinyon ; secretary, N'ashti I5ollnian; 
treasurer, Martha Hyde; conductress, Myra 
Arnold; associate conductress, Henrietta 
Kramer; Adah, Mary Pratt; Kid.h, Zetta (iil- 
mau; Esther, Jennie Johnston; Martha, Ada 
Huidoon; I'Mei^ta, Kate Tnller; marshal, Sarah 
Oreen; chaplain, .\ddie fHliott; wai'der, IMary 
Rhodeidjaugh; orgarnst, I']lizal)eth V'olk; sen- 
tinel, N. J. Sandstrom. 

ei;rek.v lodge, no. 69, a. f. & a. m., milan, 
illinois. 

Charter was issued to Eureka Lodge, No. 
G9, on iietition of brethren, mi the fourth 
day of October, 1S49, as follows: 

John (lilmore, William Feris, J. M. Plumb, 
F. B. Gilmore, Lmiis Kinyon, James Dickson, 
William Kelly, James M. Ciilniore and N. D. 
Bradley. 

After the lodge had done business for eight 
or ten years a state of lethergy appeared and 
the charter was suspended and returned to 
tlie grand lodge. Finally the members of 
Eureka Lodge I'eorganized for work, con- 
sisting of lirethern William Fei'is, Riley 
Ila^d'ord, ]). V. Roundy, John B. Davidson, 



214 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



William Wallace, N. D. Bradley, Frank H. 
Harris, George ]\I. Dirkson, .laiiies Dickson, 
Alexander Owens, William Dickson and John 
Dickson; and the first comnninication was 
hekl on the fourth day of (Jctohei-, 18G6, 
when Eureka Lodge started anew. 

The next trouble confronting Eureka was 
fire. The next year, 1(S67, fire consumed tlie 
most of the business part of the village of 
Milan — then Camden Mills — , and P^ureka 
Lodge paraphernalia was ail consumed; the 
charter, however, was saved. 

CORDOVA LODGE, NO. 543, A. K. & .\. M., COR- 
DOVA, ILLIXOIS. 

A dispensation was granted .January 2!». 
1867, and a charter October 1, 1867. The 
charter members were D. H. Mattice, John 
K. Glasscock, Orville N. Whitford, Thomas 
Karr, J. L. Perkins, George Bryan, Cieorge 
Ege, Leonard Pyle, Jesse S. Dailey, ]'>. F. 
Simpson, D. Zimmerman, A. R. Sill, R. K. 
McCormack, T. F. Abbott, J. E. Abbott, D. 
Nicewanger and Abraham Bolinger. 

Tlie ])resent membershiji is twenty-nine. 

8ILVI.S LODGE, NO. 898, A. F. & A. M., SIL\IS, 
ILLINOLS. 

Silvis Lodge was granted a disjiensation 
May 18, 1907, and their charter November 
1, 1908, at \\hich time they had a large class 
in the Master Mason's degree, working from 
nine o'clock in the morning until ten o'clock 
at night. 

The ladies of the Ba]3tist Church served 
the three meals, in a good home made way; 
substantial, bountiful and varied, with fried 
chicken each time. Li the lodge work Rock 
Island and Moline brethern assisted. They 
had twenty-seven charter members. Their 
present membership is thirty-one. 

DORIC LODCiE, NO. 319, A. F. & A. M., MOLINE, 
ILLIXOIS. 

Doric Lodge, No. 319, A. F. A- A. M., was 
organized at Mdline, Illinois, May 11, 1859, 



Dillon, Horatio G. Nourse, Luke E. Hemen- 
way, DeWitt C. Marshall, Robert H. Graham, 
Benjamin R. Towndrow, William G. Boswell, 
by the following charter members: John B. 
Amos Gould and Charles A. Brenan. 

A charter was granted October 5, 1859. 

The membership at ])resent is two hundred 
and fifty-four. 

ANDALUSIA LODGi:, NO. 516, A. F. & A. M., ANDA- 
LUSIA, ILLIXOIS. 

Date of dispensation, August 24, 1866; date 
of charter, October I, 1867. Charter mem- 
bers: B. F. Eby, F. M. Boney, S. B. Buff urn, 
I. T. Walker, .lohn Buffum, A. P. Roberts, 

F. A. Cobb, J. W. Ballard, Rinnah Wells, 

G. T. Connor, M. V. Si)encer, James Cozad. 
The present membership is thirty-seven. 
The first worshipful master under dispen- 

satiiMi was B. F. Eby; senior warden. J. W. 
Ballard; and junior warden, F. A. Cobb. 
Stated communications are held Tuesday on 
or before full moon. 

VALLEY LODGE, NO. 547, A. F. & A. M., COAL 
VALLEY, ILLIXOIS. 

Can not gi\'e the date of their dispensa- 
tion, as some of their records were destroyed 
by fire. The date of the charter is October 
1, 1867. The cliarter memliers were: James 
R. Rosenberry, William Wayne, William 
Meanor. B. R. Blackfan, Robert Lee, Fred- 
erick Wej-erhaeuser, I.. H. Trego, S. Black- 
fan. The numl)er of members at present is 
sixty-six. Stated communications Friday on 
or before full moon. 

PHILO LODGE, NO. 436, A. F. & A. M., I'ORT 
BYRON, ILLIXOIS. 

Charter was issued October 4, 1865. The 
charter members were: E. M. Hickox, Sam- 
uel R. Allen, I). G. Comstock, W. J. Shep- 
])ard, Henry Saddoris, T. D. Temple, James 
B. Temple, H. 15. Young, George P. Gates, 
H. W. Guest, E. II. .J.ihnstdii, Wilson Flem- 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



2\! 



Henry Saddoris is still a member— -eightv- 
nine years old. He was made a Master 
Mason, ill 183',), in Ohio. Ha.ve sc\ ciity-iiine 
nicniliors at lu'cscnt. 

IXDKPENDIONT ORDER OF ODD 
I'KLI.nWS. 

T\\c iiatioii.'d order was first instil iitcil in 
ISalt iinoro, .M.ii-yland, in ISlO, hy fi\'e pooiilc: 
a lilacksniitli by the name of Wiley being the 
head organizer. Tlie first local lodge insti- 
tnted and cliartereil \v:is Rock Islanii Lodge, 
No. IS, in 1S")(); some of the oUler members 
being Washington L. Sweeney, Charles B_ 
Knox, WiUiani I^ell. W. T. Norris, Henry 
Piurgower, Ernest Krell, Charles Engel, Cynis 
Churchill, Jacob Hubcr, John B. flawley and 
W. T. Magill. 

Deal T,odge, No. 60S, was chartered in 
ISTli; the older members being .lonas I5ear, 
lienben l^ollman, [''rank Bahnsen, Benjaniin 
Hartz, Herbert Scott, John South ami Charles 
Hodgson. The Odd Fellowship Association 
luive a strong bond of hel]i or assistance, 
which they contribute to tiie dead or sick. 
Roc]< Island Lodge, No. IS, giving a burial 
fuuil of eighty-five dollars, and a weekly sick 
benefit fund of four dollars. Ucal Lodge, 
No, 60S, giving a burial fund of two hundred 
and ten dollars, and a. weekly sick benefit 
fund of three dollars. 

The memberslii]) of the two lodges at the 
present time is four hundreil ami six. 

REIIKKAU LODGE, XO. 73, LADIEs' AUXILIARY. 

The founder of this auxiliary to Odd Fel- 
lowship, was Schuyler Colfax, wlio later was 
vice-]?resident of the United States. H, was 
organized in iSoO, fifty-eight years ago. 

ROYAL ARCANUM. 

iiock Island Council, No. 19o2, Royal 
Arcanum, was organized Septenilior 3, IDOL*, 
in Math's Hall, with twenty-eight chai'ter 
meml>ei-s. First olficers elected were: Re- 
genl. Will A. Robb; \-ice-regent , William 



Ranson; orator, Frank H, First; past regent, 
H. H. Robb; secretary, S. E, Mattison, junior; 
collector, Joseph F. Schneider; treasurer, A. 
S, Rasmussen; chajjlain. Reverend Thonuis 
J. Shncy; guide, Albert .Alyers; warden, Ben- 
,ianiin K. Robb; sentry, William ^L Johnson; 
trustees, Pliil S. Wilcher, \\'illiam Emig, 
Charles Oswald: rei)resentati\-e grand council, 
H, H. Robb. alternate. Will A. Robb. 

Meetings are held in Math's Hall, the second 
and fourth L'riday nights of each month. 

The present membership is eighty-fwo. 

PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES. 



THE RODMAN RIFLES. 

Was mustered into the State service, l>y 
('olonel David O. Reid, ad.jntant-general 
commanding, Septemlier 5, LS77. numbering 
about seventy-five men. The first ollicers 
elected were William 1'. liutler, captain: 
Charles W. Hawes, lii'st lieuteiuint: John M. 
Reticker, secoml lieutenant. 

Shortly after the organization of the 
com]iany it was assigned to the Fourteenth 
Battalion of Infantry, Illinois National (luard, 
and designated as Conqiauy 1). First Liiui- 
tenant Charles W. Hawes was elected captain, 
vice-ca])tain William P. Butler promotefl to 
lieutenant-colonel conuua.nding the Four- 
teenth Battalion, with headquarters at Rock 
Island. 

The company was one of the finest in the 
State, haA ing distinguished itself for precision 
in military tactics and for soldierly conduct 
generally. The Rifle team made the best 
record of any team in the Second Brigade and 
won the prize for markmanshi]i offered by 
the Second Brigade, in 1880, and also ]irizes 
in contests in other States. 

In LS79, a corporation was formed by 
members of the company, and jmrchased a 
lot and ei'ected thereon a three-story bi-irk 
Armory building, sixty by one hundred ami 
fifty feet, at an expense of .f 15,000. It is 
said to lie the finest Armory ever l)uilt and 



216 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



owned by a single militaiy company nj) to 
that date; it is located at the corner of Third 
Avenue and Sixteenth Street, and is still 
occupied by the company and the Rock 
Island Division of Naval Reserves. 

The Armory Building is now owned by the 
City of Rock Island, the building has been 
enlarged and part is used for council chambers, 
city offices and police station. 

Company D was assigned to the Sixth 
Regiment of Infantry in 1882, and designated 
as Company A in 1908. The company served 
in the Spanish American War, in General 
Miles expedition to Cuba and Porto Rico, 
giving excellent service. 

THIRD BRIGADE, ILLIXOIS NATIONAL GUARD, 
MOLINE, ILLINOIS. 

The Brigade officers are as follows. Briga- 
dier-General, Kdward Kittilsen, commanding; 
Major Elmei' E. Morgan, adjutant-general. 

■SIXTH INFANTRY, ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD, 
ROCK ISLAND. ILLIXOIS. 

Colonel Will T. Channon, commanding; 
Captain John J. Cairns, regimental adjutant. 

Company A, Rock Island — Captain. Kd- 
wai'd Diuiavin; first lieutenant, Walter Iv 
Hart.; second lieutenant, Bernard A. Koch. 

Company F, Moline — Captain, Marvin H. 
Lyon, commanding; first lieutenant, Charles 
Laurin; second lieutenant, Roland E. Willis. 

Rock Island Division, Naval Reserves — 
Lieutenant, Samuel R. Davis, commanding; 
lieutenant junior grade, Maurice DeKay; 

Moline Division, Naval Reserves — lieuten- 
ant, George T. Kemmerling, commanding: 
lieutenant, junior grade, Cieorge Gibbs. 

Helen Gould Auxiliary, No. 7, United 
Spanisli \\ ar ^'etcrans. 

I GRAND ARMY 01' Till. KKl'[fliLIC. 

In cominling the hi,story of Hock Island 
County, it would not be comjilete without 
making mention of the Gi'and Army Posts, 
aud their auxiliaries. Sliorth- after the colse 



of the Civil War, the thought came in the 
minds of the soldiers that were separating to 
do something that would keep them near 
together, and the Grand Army of the Republic 
was instituted. 

Doctor B. F. Stephenson, of Springfield, 
Illinois, was the founder. The first Post was 
organized at Decatur, Illinois, April 6, 1866. 
Honorable M. F. Kanan was its first com- 
mander. 

Wednesday evening, .lune G, 1866, a meet- 
ing was held in the County Clerk's office of 
the late officers and soldiers of the United 
States vohuiteers. Major S. C. Plummer 
read the constitution of the Grand Army of 
the Republic: and it was decided to organize 
a post. 

Captain .1. A. .lordan. Major S. C. Plummer, 
Lieutenant-Colonel E. M. Beardsley, Major 
.James M. Beardsley, and Captain .James F. 
Copp were elected delegates to the first 
Soldiers and Sailors convention held in Illi- 
nois, and which convened in Springfield .Jiuie 
12, 1866. That evening they elected the 
following officers: Major, Samuel C. Plum- 
mei-, district commander; Captain .Johi: Peetz, 
adjutant-general; W. C. Hlackburn. qmirter- 
niaster; Cai)tain David Iliilicr. ]iost-com- 
mander; Captain Lester D. Plielps, adjutant; 
James L. Hodges, quartermaster-sergeant. 

June 24, 1866, the comrades received their 
charter, being designated as Post No. 24. At 
the first organization of the various Posts, no 
names were given; fuily numbers. After- 
wards names were given in connection with 
nunilter of the difTerent Posts: the names 
being in limiorable recognition of some 
])rominent and favorite soldier. 

I'ollowing this meeting a great nnmy of the 
old soldiers joined the Post, and arranged 
l)y-la\vs and constitution. All went well for 
a year when the general interest lagged and 
tliey finally threw up their chartei- and was 
not reorganized until May 30, 1883, when the 
following officers were elected: Major H. C. 
Connellv, commander: Louis M. Huford 



H rSTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



217 



senior vice-eoniinandci': Iv II. Howmaii, 
junicir vice-coniniandcr ; Jdliii M. Heitcker, 
quartermaster; J. M. Montgonierv. ofiicpr of 
the day; JIajor Samuel (". I'limiiiier, surgeon; 
L. V. Eckluirt, officer of the innards; A. H. 
Hampton, ehaphnin; Cunirade Harry Abel was 
aii]3ointed adjutant; J. .M. J^eardsley. second 
quartermaster-sergeant ; Levi Harsnn, ser- 
geant-major; and the followint; name adop- 
ted: "Major (ieueral .lohn I'nford Post, 
No. 243." 

The objects of the (Jrand .\rniy has been 
changed from time to tinie af llicir annual 
meetings for the greatest iinmbcr interested. 
many of the legislati\e acts have been lirought 
about by the Cirand .\rmy, and much good 
accomplished by them, foi- the gi'cat princi|)les 
im'olved. 

The following is a list of the Posts of the 
County, and year of organization: 

.Major Ceiieral .hiliii P.ufor.l Post, No. 243, 
Rock Island, bS74; Craiiam Post. No. 312, 
Moline, ISdS; Willi.am McDaniid Post, No. 
595, Hami)t(m, IStJS; All'oi'd P.ing I'ost, No. 
492, Andalusia, LSSG; William P. Walker 
Post, No. 385, Coal Valley, ISSO; .1. W. Muse 
Post, No. 3G9, Milan. ISMI; lieynolds. No. 
559, Reynolds, ISSG. 

Eligibility to meinliei'slii|), includes soldiers 
and sailoi's (if the rnited States army, navy 
or marine cor])s, who served between .\]iril 
12, 1S61, and Ajn-il 9, lNt)5. in the war for the 
suppression of the rebeliicm; those having 
been honorably discharged thei'efrom after 
such service; and of such State regiments as 
were called into active service, and subject to 
the orders of the United States general officers 
between the dates mentioned; sluUl be eligible 
to membership in the (Irand Army of the 
Repul)lic. No ]ierson sliall be eligible to 
membership who has at any time borne arms 
against the Ignited States. .\'o officer or 
comrade of tlie Crand Army of tlie Republic 
shall in any manner use tlie organization for 
partisan puri^oses, and no discussion of parti- 
san questions shall be iiermilled at any of its 



meetings, nor shall any nominations for 
)iolitical oflice be nuide. 

The objects to l>e accomjilished liy this 
organization are: To preserve and strengthen 
those kind and fraternal feelings which bind 
together soldiers, sailors and marines, who 
miited to suppi-ess the late rebellion, and to 
])erpetuate the memoi'v and history of the 
Dead; to assist such former comi-ades in arms 
as need help and prolecti(Ui. and to extend 
needful aid tn the widows and oi-phans of 
tJKise who ha\'e f.'dlen; to maintain true 
allegiance t i the I'liited States of America, 
based upon a |iai-amount respect for and 
fidelity to its constitution and laws, t > dis- 
coimteinance \\li,-ite\('i' tends to weaken loy- 
alty, incite insurrection, li'cason or rebellion; 
or in any mainiei' iinpaii's the efiicienc\' or 
|>ermancy of our fi'ce institutions; and to 
encourage the spre;id of universal libertv, 
e(pial riu'hts and justice to all men. 

The Maj(n' (ieneral .lohn Piifoi'd Post, No. 
243. was highly compliment ei I by one of its 
members Ivlwin II. Puck-, in 1906 — lieing 
elected IJep.-irl nieni coniuiander of the State 
of Illinois, :ind with the boys was dubl)ed 
' ' Pri\ate lluck." 

THE PRESS OF ROCK ISLAND 
COUNTY. 



To Henry C. McCrew, a nati\-e of Ireland, 
wlio came to this country in ISPS with his 
father, l)elongs tlie credit of issuing the first 
newspaper ]nd)lish(>d in Rock Island ("ounty. 
He came to Rock Island in 1S39, and about 
the middle of August of that year started 
the Rock Island lUnimr and Stephenson 
Giiziilc. which suspended publication in the 
Fall of 1N41. when the press and t\pe were 
moved to (ienese:). The paper was neutral 
in ])olitics until IS4(). when, during the 
])residential campaign of tliat year, it ad\'o- 
cated the pi-inciples of the Democratic 
party. 



218 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



THE UPPER MISSISSIPPIAN. 

After the Banner began its suijport of the 
Democratic party, the Whigs felt the need of 
a paper during tlie political excitement of 
1840, and accordingly in the early part of 
October of that year the Upper Missisi^ipio.n 
was started; its editors and jjrojjrietors at 
first not being announced, but all communi- 
cations were to be addressed to Daniel Crist. 

The ]iaper had an eventful career and its 
editorial columns were principally filled with 
personal quarrels. At times the paper failed 
to be published on account of lack of fimds 
with which to purchase paper, and at one 
time it was suggested to buy muslin and print 
on that; the subscribers to wash and return 
it in time for the next issue; but the ))roject 
was never carried out. On September 24, 
1842, the press and type were replevined in 
the name of John G. Powers, and the paper 
was ]irinted for that week in the Gazette 
office at Davenport. In November, 1842, a 
new press and type were purchased. 

Among the people prominently connected 
with the Upper Mississipian during its career 
were: Daniel Crist; Doctor Silas Reed, wlio 
fm-nished the editorial; and Thomas Ciregg. 
Harmon G. Reynolds purchased the paper 
from Crist in November, 1844, and changed 
the name to the Upper Mississipian and 
Rock Island Republican. It expired early in 
1847. 

THE NORTHWESTERN ADVERTISER. 

In 1845, the Whigs were again without a 
paper, and in November of that year, a 
prospectus was issued for a new paper to be 
known as the Northwestern Advertiser , edited 
and inibilshed by Doctor Horatio P. Gatchell, 
who came from Cincinnati, Ohio, as a Chris- 
tian (Campbellite) preacher, and Miles W. 
Conway. The press was purchased at Du- 
buque, Iowa. 

On the 12th of November Mr. Conway died, 
and this so discouraged Doctor Gratchell that 



he sold the pajier to General William Vanderer 
in May, 1S4G. Mr. Vanderer jiublished the 
jjaper for about a year when he sokl it to 
Messrs. Sanders and Davis, of the Davenport 
Gazelle, wlut puiilished it a few months and 
then sold it to F. U. liennett, he changing the 
name to the Rock Island Advertiser. 

Mr. Bennett continued the publication cif 
the paper alone until 1856, when A. J. 
Brackett became an associate, the partnership 
lasting aliout a year, Mr. Brackett retiring. 

In September, 1,S53, Mr. Bennett, the sole 
proprietor since Colonel Brackett's retire- 
ment, sold to Thomas R. Raymond and 
Oliver T. Wharton, who remained together 
until September 13, 1854, when Mr. Wharton 
assumed control and Mr. Raymond estab- 
lished a job ofifice. 

The Tri-Weekly Advertiser was started in 
December, 1853, and in 1855 Mr. Wharton 
started the Daily Advei-tiser, which was run 
until the Sjiring yf 1858. 

In 1856 Mr. Wharton formed a jiartnershi]) 
with G. S. Hyatt, whicli did not last long. 
In August, 1856, Mr. Wliarton sold the 
Advertiser to T. R. Raymond, and in Decem- 
ber Doctor A. S. Paddnck l)ecame interested 
with Mr. Raymond in its publication, which 
lasted about a year. The paper died in the 
Spring of 1858. 

THE LIBERTY BANNER. 

A small, un|)retentious .sheet, advocating 
the abolition of slavery — The Liberty Banner 
— made its first appearance in the Sjjring of 
1846; a most unfavorable time, and advocat- 
ing a principle which both the great parties, 
the Democrats and the Whigs, were violently 
opposing. Its editor was C. B. Waite. The 
paper was printed in the office of the Upper 
Mississipian. It was published only a few 
months. 

THE ARGUS. 

The first issue of the paper which after- 
ward became The Argus was printed in a rear 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



219 



room on the second lloor ol' wliat was then 
tlie ^\'llittaker ami I'^verts hiiililini;, located 
just east of tlie present Ai-j;iis Imildinti'. 
Octolier IS, 1851. .Mtliouf^h it was issued 
as the !\ock Islantl R( pahlinin. it was Demo- 
i-i-atic in politics then, as now, 'i'he a(hii)tion 
of tlie ]H'esent nanie was l)i-ouj;lit about in 
isr),5 Iiy the forn.ation of an opposini'- political 
]iai1y, which took the one the paper hore. 
At the time it was estalilisluMJ. as in the case 
with the publication for the inosi pari, since, 
the Rcpiihlimn was the (udy 1 Jcinocr.atic 
pajier within a radius of oni' hundi'ecl miles, 
lis piililicati<in was liesi'un liy l''red S. \i(diols 
and .Fohn W. Dunham, The outfit they used 
was a second hand one, pui'cliased in St. 
l.ouis. I'xith ]iartners had considerable ex- 
perience in newspaper work pre\ious to their 
coniint; here, and their ac(]uaintance was 
formed while workinji toijether on tlie St. 
I.ouis I ntcllif/enccr. Nichols was a Northern 
man and Diuihani a. Southei-ner. The latter 
soon became tired of the luidertakin.t!; an<l 
after si.x weeks he sold out (o his partner. 
Nichols continued alone until November, 
lN.51.*, when he sold a half iiderest to ,J. R. 
Danforth, jmiior, whose connection with the 
paper continued to a more or less extent till 
I Still. 

Having acquired the intei'est of Nichols, 
in the Sjiring of 1S53, Mr. Danforth continued 
as sole proprietor three years, when a share 
was purehaseil by Robert V. Shurley. The 
P>uforil J-ilock, at the northeast corner of 
Second Avenue and Seventeenth Street, the 
first four-story Iniilding in the City, was 
comjdeted in 1854, and the Republican took 
up quarters there which it retained se\-enteen 
years. July 13th of tliat year the fii-st daily 
was issued. At that time there was no other 
daily nearer than Duljucjue. 

Sejitember IG, 1857, Pershing and Connelly 
(the latter Major H. C. Connelly), then pub- 
lisliers of the Rock hIatHlcr. bought the 
interest not owned by Mr. Shurlcw and the 
title of the pa])er was change(l to the Ruck 



hlandcr duil Artjiif^. \ week .after this 
transaction. Mi-. Shui'ley sold out to .Milton 
Jiuies, who remaiiu'd on the paper until 1,S81. 
Se])temb('r Hi. is,")'.), ,1. 11 Danforth again 
secui'cil an interest, buying out I'urshing and 
Connelly, and the paper luice more became 
77(1 Ari/iis. In the meantime, ,7uly 18, 18.'59, 
the daily was suspended and a tri-weekly 
begun. This was continued until Septendier 
1, IStil, when the daily was resumed. 

In ISC!) ijobcrt I'. .McNeal bought out Mr. 
Danforth: but .lanuai-y 1, 1S7(). he, in turn, 
parted with his interests to .1, S. Drake. 
Three yeais l;iter The Argus Company was 
formeil and iiicoi'p(n'ated with a capital 
•stock of .f.'i'i.ODO. In IS71 the Buford heirs 
erecteil the .Argus l')l(Hd< next tlie alley on the 
east side of Ivist Se\'(>nteentli Street, and th(> 
piaper went into its first ex(dusi\e cpuirters. 
Ten years later Richardson and Powers ac- 
quireil the cont rolliui^ interest in the company. 
For a bi'ief year they waged a, struggle against 
ad^-ersity. At the end of that time, in ISSl, 
financial re\'erses necessitated a susjjension 
of the [lajier. .1, W. Potter, publisher of the 
Free]iort Bulliliii. came upon the scene ami 
bought the news])ai)er, sending his son, the 
late .T, W, Potter, junioi-, here to manage it. 
(See biogra])hy of .1. \\ . Potter, as per index). 
The first issue under the new management 
appeared August '2, 1,SS2. In May, 1885, the 
elder Mr. Potter died, and the son became 
sole owner. When Mr. Potter took charge 
of The Ari/iis there was little but the name 
left. For a time the ])aper was issued in 
abljreviated form. .As it made a [dace for 
itself in the comnnmity it was enlarged till 
it becanie an eight .and even a nine-cohnnn 
folio. The size was reduced to the stamlard 
seven colunm (pnu'to up(in the installation of 
a Cox perfecting |iress in lS94. Since that 
time the regvdar issue has been of six and 
eight pages, but special editions of twehc, 
sixteen and even more ]iages lia\e been issued 
from time to time. 



220 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



In ISSS the old quarters on East Seven- 
teenth Street were outgrown. During that 
season tlie building now occupied was pur- 
chased by Mr. Potter and became the paper's 
home. 

The first Daily Argus, which was issued 
July 13, 1854, was an evening j^aper. De- 
cember 17, 1855, it was changed to a morning 
paper and published as such till November 
IS, 1861. when evening pidilication w;is again 
resumed, and has been continued \\\> to the 
present. A weekly has been ])ul)lishe(.l con- 
tinuouslj' since the founding of the i)aper in 
1851. 

During the years since The Argus was 
revived by Mr. Potter, it has earned rank 
among the first papers of its cla.ss in the 
state, and has maintained that position. 
Besides being the oldest paper in the County, 
it has been ijublished under its present name 
longer tlum an^' other pa]ier in the three 
cities. It was the first paper in the three 
cities to use a steam power press, the first to 
substitute therefor an electric motor, and the 
first to abandon the old cylinder press for one 
of the perfecting variety. 

Upon the death of J. W. Potter, January 
11, 1898, the management of The Argus 
became known as the J. W. Potter Publishing 
Company, by which the paper is now issued. 
The officers are. President, Mrs. J. W. 
Potter; vice-president, H. P. Simpson; secre- 
tary, and treasurer James J. LaVelle. Mr. 
Simpson is editor and Mr. LaA'clle manager 
of the paper. 

THE NEWS. 

On the Kith of March, 1855, James Bowie 
issued a daily [laper in Rock Island called 
The News. It was printed in Raymond's 
office in Gothic Block, and was of transient 
duration. It expired after an existence of 
one hundred and twenty-eight days. Bowie 
came here from Baltimore, and after leaving 
here edited a paper at Geneseo, Henry 
County. In September, 1858, he returned to 



Moline, and in connection with Frank Linne- 
han started the Citizen, which soon failed, 
and in 1860 he was again at Geneseo, in con- 
nection with another short lived paper in 
that place, where he died in 1860. 

- THE COMMERCIAL. 

On the 7th of July, 1858, C. W. Kirkland 
cominenceil the publication of a morning 
daily paper, and also a weekly, called the 
Commercial. In its first issue he said : ' ' The 
Commercial will be the firm, zealous and con- 
sistent sup)3orter of the principles of the 
Republican party." The printing was done 
at Raymond's office in the Gothic Block. 
It was discontinued on the 3rd of February, 
1859, for the want of patronage. 

THE ROCK ISLAND REGISTER. 

T. J. Pickett launched a Repulilican paper 
— the Hiu-k Island Register — February 9, 
1859, and published from the start a weekly 
and tri-weekly, with Campbell W. Waite as 
associate editor, who continued his connec- 
tion with the pa]ier for about five months. 
June 6, 1,S6(), ('. W. Kirkland became a 
partner, the firm name being Pickett and 
Waite. editors and proprietors. January 9, 
1861, Mr. Pickett having been elected to the 
Legislature, Mr. M. S. Barnes took charge of 
the editorial department, whicli he retained 
until the return of Mr. Pickett in August of 
that year. 

The tri-weekly ceased publication some 
time in the Summer of 1861, and the weekly 
some time in 1862. 

ROCK ISLAND UNION. 

While the Union was first issued in Rock 
Island, November 5, 1862, the origin of the 
paper is to be sought in Moline, the daily and 
weeklj' Union representing a union of two 
Moline pajiers, and the transfer of the office 
of ]nd)lication to Rock Island, the county 
seat, and the political and commercial centre 
of the county. In August, 1857, Ames 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



221 



.Smith, who panic west fruni I.aiiilxM-l \-illc, 
New Jersey, startcMl the Mciliiic Work-iiiaii. a 
weekly which stroir^ly espouised the anti- 
sla\'ery cause. In l"'ehniary. IS^J, he solil 
the ])hxiit to Robert H. (Irahain ami Alfred 
Webster, who chaiiRed the name to the 
Independent, under which name it was con- 
tinued by various owners. Tlje ownership of 
the plant, after several changes, in 1S62, 
finally reverted to Mr. fli-aham and his 
l)rotiier-in-law, Mr. I. A. Kuck. The latter 
remained in charge wlien Mr. (Iraham entered 
the military ser\-ice at the outljreak of the 
Civil War, in \\hich he rose to the rank of 
Colonel. His death foUowcnl .soon after his 
resignation, in the I''all of 1X02. 

In Novemlier, 1S62, Mr. K\>rk discontinued 
the ]iubliratiiin of the Moline Independent, 
and nio\-ed the plant into the old Mitchell 
and Lynde 151ock, in Rock Island, whence, on 
the fifth of the nidntli. the first nunibei- of 
the Weekh/ Union \\as ]>ublished, as an organ 
nf the Republicans of the cciunty. Mr. 
(Iraham died No\embcr II, and (he publica- 
lion of the daily, whicii li:id .■dready lieen 
launched in the e\|)ectation llial he would be 
able to return to take ])art in the enterprise, 
was at once stopped. Mr. Kuck continucil 
the puldication of the Wakli/ Union until 
May, ISG;?, when lie sold the pnipei'ty to 
Colonel M. S. Ij.arnes. who at once resunied 
the publication of the Doili/ Union as an 
evening paper in additi(ui In the weekly. 
The ]iublication of the daily as an evening 
l)a]ier was continued until December, 1S66. 
when Colonel Barnes, who had. resunied 
possession after three nKuitlis cinitrol by 
Major William Caffery, sold the property tn 
Ca|)tain L. M. Haverstick, wlio came hei'e 
from Maryland. \\'hen Captain Haverstick 
took possession the <laily was changed tn a 
morning pajicr. He subsequently bought 
tlie Moline Rcpublienn, and added its jnb 
plant as a department of the I'liinn pi-inting 
business. Captain HaAerstick was the eilitur 
i)f the Union until 1.S74, but in the meantime 



he had several ])artncrs in the business. On 
July ], 1S67, M. D. Merrill bought a two- 
fifths interest. At the end of two years he 
sold it back to Mr. Haverstick. The latter 
then sold a, h;df interest to I\Ir. Richard 
Crami)t(m, ami the result was the removal 
of the ollice of publication to the block in 
which Mr. Crampton carried on his book 
store and blank book manufactory. This 
combination continued until the Summer of 
1S72, when Captain Haverstick repurchased 
Mr. Cr.'unpton's interest and built the block 
on iMghteenth Street from which the Union, 
daily and weekly, has since been issued. In 
the S])ring nf 1873, Mr. O. A. Barnhart pur- 
chased a half interest in the paper, which ho 
held for one j-ear. 

In March, 1S74, the Tnion Printing Com- 
pany was (U'gatiized, to take over the prop- 
erty. The first stock holders and officers 
were: L. M. Haverstick, president; A. E. 
\\'ells, vice-jiresident; Walter Johnson, secre- 
tary and treasurer. In September of that 
year Captain IIa\'erstick sold his stock to 
Captain H. C. Clea\eland and J. J. Parks, 
when Mr. Johnson became ]iresident and 
editor, and Mr. Clea\-eland business manager. 

During the succeeding two years, the' 
ownership of the stock field by Messrs. 
Cleaveland and Pai'ks cluinged hands several 
times, Cajitain Ha\crslick returning to his 
old place for a time. In lS7(i, liowever, he 
sold his rpuirter interest to William Henry 
Burdett, and Mr. Parks sold his quarter 
interest to (ieorge McKay Luken, who 
became superintendent of the jol) room. 
After this period the ownership of the paper 
became staple and confined to fewer hands. 
Mr. Luken after a few years, sold his interest 
to Messrs. Johnson and Burdett, and a small 
block of the stock went to Cieorge Morgan, 
but the latter remained with the paper but a 
short time. In 18S,S, Mr. Burdett, on account 
of sickness which caused his death December 
1, 18S9, sold his intere.st to Mr. H. C. Ash- 
baugh. The latter, in 1S91, .sold it to 



222 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Mr. Jdluison, who tluis became the sole owner 
well as the editor. After his death the as 
property descended to liis widow and daught- 
ers, who have retained the ownership of the 
pa])er. J. K. I>randenljnro;, whom Mr. John- 
son, dnrint;; the period of invalidism preceding 
his death, placed in charge of the editorial 
department, continuing in that capacity, with 
Ij. Ben Driffill as business manager, and F. 
W. Rinck as advertising manager. 

The Daily Union has returned to the field 
which it originally occupied as an evening 
paper, and the change has materially in- 
creased the ])rosperity which the pa]5er has 
enjoyed for a quarter of a century. 

THE AMERICAN LAW REPORTER. 

A neat, little quarto-weekly paper which 
made its appearance in the Fall of 1872, was 
The American Law Reporter, with L. G. 
Johnson as editor. As the name implies it 
was devoted to the interests of the legal pro- 
fession of Illinois and Iowa. The first edition 
was printed in Davenport, then it was moved 
into the Union Block, Rock Island. The 
paper was published for eighteen weeks, when 
it ceased for want of ]iatronage. 

THE LIBERTY LEAGUE. 

Another paper, which had a short life, and 
whose publishers were unannounced, made 
its appearance A]iril 3, 1S73, its name being 
The Liberty Lcagitv. The paper was started 
as an organ for the liquor dealers of Rock 
Island and the adjoining cities. It lived 
three weeks, when, as generally sup])osed, 
the material was stole during the night time, 
shipi)ed to ]?urlington, Liwa, and sold. 

MOLINE DAILY DISPATCH. 

Established July 31, 1878, by Oliver and 
Louise White, who came to Moline from 
Toulon, Stark County, where they had con- 
ducted the Mnllic Stark. They started the 
Dispatch as a four-column folio. A little 
later is was consolidate with the Review, and 



til us originated the name of the Review- 
Dispatch, now the weekly edition of the Daily 
Dispatch. Samson Kennedy was one of the 
successors of the Whites, and with him was 
Ca])tain L. M. Haverstick. These proprietors 
conducted the Dispatch till in the early 
eighties the\' were succeeded by the Dean 
Brothers — Fred 0. Dean and Jay H. Dean. 
When these latter had failed to make the 
publication pay, they were, in July of 1885, 
succeeded by P. S. McGlynn and John K. 
Groom. Mr. Groom sold out his interest in 
1891 to W. F. Eastman. Since that time 
Messrs. McGlynn and Eastman have been 
editors, publishers and owners of the paper, 
under the style of the Moline Dispatch Pub- 
lishing CompanA^ 

MOLINE WEEKLY REVIEW-DISPATCH. 

From June of 1867, when Captain L. M. 
Haverstick bought the Moline Republican and 
discontinued it, to November 26, 1870, Moline 
hail no newspaper. On the date last named, 
Messrs. Lowe and Gilson (Frank R. Ciilson, 
later of the Clinton, Iowa, Herald and the 
Benton Harbor, Michigan, Palladium, during 
his proprietorship of wliich latter paper he 
died) started the Moline Review. They used 
the printing material of the discontinued 
Republican. February 17, 1871, Mr. Lowe 
retired from the firm. Mr. Gilson continued 
jiublishing the paper till September 23, 1871, 
when he gave way to Kennedy and Crichton. 
May 1, 1872, Mr. Crichton retired and was 
succeeded by B. F. Tillinghast, now of the 
Daven]3ort Democrat. The firm was Kennedy 
and Tillinghast till March 23, 1874, when Mr. 
Kennedy retired. Tillinghast conducted the 
paper alone till July 1, 1875, when he was 
joined by John H. Porter. February 5, 1877, 
Tillinghast and Porter sold the paper to R. H. 
Moore, later of the Ottumwa Courier. In 
1878 came consolidation with the Daily 
Dispatch, under the management of Oliver 
White and his wife. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



223 



PORT P.VHOX rj.ORE. 

The first issue of (lie \'nvt Ryroii Globe 
ajipeared Octoher 10, l.ssd. J. \\'. Simpson 
beiiiji' editor ami proprietor. It was tlieii an 
eiglit-cohimn folio and was iii)erally i)atron- 
ized from the start. Mr. Sini])son, February 
22, 1885, sold out to Hess and Owen. This 
firm continued for a year, wIkmi Mr. Hess sold 
his interest to G. A. Metzgar, and the latter 
disposed of his interest to Mr. Owen after 
only a short connection with the ]3aper. In 
ISOl W. D. Hall ]iurchased an interest and 
the firm was then kuo\vn as Owen and Hall. 
March 1, 1898, Frank McMeekin purchased 
Mr. Owen's interest and the firm (jf Hall and 
McMeekin continued five years, when the 
junior member of the jxirtnership retired from 
the puljlication and W. ]). Hall became sole 
owner, and continues as such at the ])resent 
time. 

The Glohc has always Ixuaie the re|nitation 
of bein,!i' one of the best country weeklies of 
the State. Its advei'tisint; space is sought 
liecause it is Iiatdved by the ciitii-e farming 
community and the A'illages f)f the north end 
of the count}-, and it is also carefully editeil 
and neatly printed. I'nder the management 
of Mr. Hall the liusiness of the paper has 
dcuibled, and it is at pi'esent ecpiipped with 
power ])resses and other macliiiieiy to meet 
the increase in its patroiia.iie. 

The paper has always b( en independent 
jiolitically. giving first attention to the home 
news, and treating all fairly and honestly, 
regardless of color, sex or pre\iiuis c(widition 
of servitude. In short, the |)apei' is a family 
pajjer and its ])resent ])roprietor feels that his 
efforts to make it such are appi'cciateil, as 
his readers point to the Clalic as a model 
CO I m try paper. 

MOLINE MAIL, 

.Mthough tlie youngest of the iiewsp.-ipers 
of Moline. the l\Ioline KntiiDij Mail has, from 
the first, enjoyed the confidence and fa\'or of 



the great mass of the ]ieople com]irising 
Moline's popidation; and with the growth of 
the city and sul)m-l)s the jiajier has increased 
in these attributes. 

Started as a Sunday morning ])aper in 
1893, the daily etiition was begun soon after- 
ward, induced by the growth in popularity of 
the Sunday edition. The first owner of the 
paper was the firm of Stanley and May — 
Messrs. T. I. Stanley and Charles E. May— 
and it so continued until Mr. Stanley sold his 
interests to W. A. Jones, and the paper con- 
tinued under the firm of .Tones and May. In 
1902 Mr. Jones sold his half interest to J. H. 
McKeever, then city editor, and the firm 
became May and ^IcKeever, This partner- 
ship was incorporated in 1903 as The Moline 
Mail Companj', and the fcdlowing directors 
were elected and serve at present: E. B. 
McKeever, J. H. McKeever, C. E. May an<l 
J. H. Holmes; the officers being as follows: 
president, E. R. McKeever; vice-president, 
J. H. Holmes; secretary-treasurer, J. H- 
McKee\er. 

From the first Tin Mail has been inde- 
pendent in politics, voicing the will and the 
\igor of jjublic sentimeid as expressed by 
the [leojile. 

Starting with a foot-power job press and a 
snndl type efpiipment, located in a cellar 
basement, The Mini has grown imtil tmlay 
it occupies its own building, a fine two-story 
l)rick structure at 1 420 I'"ifth Avenue, has a 
perfecting press and linotype machines, a 
large eqni]iment in composing room, and a 
splendid, loyal and enthusiastic staff of 
workers in all departments. 11 P. Rund- 
cjuist is city editor and J. A. Logsdon is in 
charge of the circulation. E. R. McKeever 
is editor, and J. II. Mcdveever, business 
manager. The ]ia]"ier is now issued every 
week day e^'ening, the Sunday issue having 
been discontinued. 

A job i)rinting department is also operated 
in connecticui with the news])ai)er. 



224 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



THE REYXOT,DS TRESS. 

Jesse A. Winger \v;is the fouiKler of tlie 
Prcsfi. He bought the entire pkmt, new 
from shooting-stick to jie\\spa])er press, in 
Chicago, and issued Nunil:)er one of Volume 
one in Aledo, tiie seat of Mercer County, on 
October 1!), lSfl4, In that city it was jiul)- 
lished for more than a year as a red liot 
Democratic weelvly. 

But tlic income wasn't ([uite large enougli 
to pay the ex]3enses, and so Mr. Winger 
sought a new field. He fountl it at Reynolds, 
the metroi^olis of tlie lower end of Rock 
Island County, and one of the finest little 
villages in the State, located, l)y the way, 
about ludf way between Aledo and Rock 
Island, ami surrounded in every direction by 
a particularly rich agricvdtural region. The 
Aledo Press thus became the Reynold.s Press, 
without missing an issue, in January, 1896, 
at the same time changing its politics to 
independent. 

In February, 1S97, the plant and sul:)scrip- 
tion list were sold to (luy V. Pettit, who at 
that time was principal of the Brimfield, 
Peoria County, schools. Mr. Pettit had been 
in jiublic school work for twelve years, five 
of them ha\ ing been spent at the head of the 
Hani|>toii and Reymilds schools, respectively. 
Without a single day's experience in a print 
shop, the new owner assumed ]iersonal charge 
of his venture July 1, 1S97, and has been with 
the pajier ever since. 

In common with most country weeklies, 
the Press was a "patent inside'' paper up to 
May 1, 1904. Since that time it has been an 
"all home print," pul)lished in six-column 
quarto style, with occasionally two to four 
additional pages to acconmiodate special 
spurts of advertising. The old hand press, 
on which the ]iaper was printed for six years, 
disa])peared in 1900 to make room for a big 
drum cylinder, that runs at the rate of 1,'200 
an hour. The Press, which, Ijy the way, has 
never missed an issue since its birth twelve 



years ago, attempts to make a specialty of 
local news, neighboring correspondence and 
live advertisements. Its principal claim for 
distinction lies in the fact that, considering 
the size of the village, it probably has a larger 
circulation than any other pajjer in the State. 

THE BEOBACHTER AM MISSISSIPIAN. 

The first paper printed in the German 
language in Rock Island was The Beohachtcr 
am Mississipian, making its appearance in 
1S57, the proprietor being Maguns Mueller, 
and edited by Doctor Ciolina, a physician 
who resided and practiced his ])rofession here 
for some years. The paper was not well 
sui)i)orted and survived only about one year. 
Its politics were neutral. 

THE CHRONIK DES WESTP^NS. 

In December, 1S59, tlie material of the 
Bcobachter office was ])urchased by Adam 
and George I.eiberknecht, who on the first 
of January, 1860, started a weekly German 
newspaper, called the Chronik des Westens. 
Tins paper, like its predecessor, was neutral 
in politics. It ceased to exist in 1863. 

THE NEUE VOLKS ZEITUNG. 

On the 30th of August, 1875, the finst 
number of a handsome semi-weekly, entitled 
Nviie Volks Zeitung, was issued from Zeis' 
Building on the northeast corner of Eighteenth 
Street and Second Avenue. It was started 
by Charles C. Winter, one of the editors of 
the Wcstlichc Post, of St. Louis, who had 
come here during the April previous to 
inspect the prospects for such an enterprise. 
The paper was a success from the start. In 
politics it was thoroughly independent, and 
it maintained that position admirably through 
out, until its name was changed. 

Mr. Winter's pajier flourished until March 
1, 1SS2, when he sold the same to George S. 
Lechner, who came here from Johnstown, 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Winter moving from here 
to Danville, Illinois, where he published 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



225 



siicpessfully the DadRrhc Ztilinnj until fh'c 
years ago when lie diecl in Lumlon, iMigland, 
on a journey to the fatherland. jMr. f.echner 
after a few months sold the Nviie Volks 
ZcitioKi to F. Protar, through whose efforts 
the paper was brought to a fioiu'ishing con- 
dition. He changed the name to Volkf; 
Ziitimg. After a prosperous ten years' career 
Mr. Protar, on A])ril 1, 1893, .sold his journal 
to the Rock Island-Moline Volks Zeitung 
Publishing Company, consisting of prominent 
(iernian citizens of Rock Island and Moline. 
The paper was managed by Messrs. Paid 
Kersch and August Hansgen. These men 
were less successful than their ])redecessor, 
and July 1, 1S97, John P. Kieffer, of Remsen, 
Iowa, undertook the publication of the 
paper, which he continued for exactly two 
years. (Uistav Donald, of I)aven|)ort, bought 
the Volkn Zeitung July 1, isnit, and pub- 
lished the same until July 1, 1901, when it 
came into the hands of Val. J. Peter, of Peoria, 
Illinois. Mr. Peter began his newspaper 
career seventeen years ago as a compositor 
for the Volks Zcilitnri. He has always con- 
sidered this City his home. He went from 
here to Peoria., where he was engage(l until 
his return to this City as city ('(litor of tiie 
Daily Peoria Sonne, one of the lai'gest and 
most inlhiential (leniian newspapers in the 
west. During the period of Mr. Peter's 
management of the }'iilks ZcHinni. which is 
issued every Tuesday and i'^iiday. was brought 
to a degree of e.xceilence licyoml that of .-iiiy 
previous time in its history. On (October 3, 
]9();5, :\Ir. Peter bought the two-story brick 
building, at 1900 Third A\enue, of Henry 
Frick, where his thriving business is now 
comfortably enconsed. He also purchaseiJ a 
Hoe newspaper press, and on Octoljer 23, 
1903, the Volks Zeitung was for the first time 
in its existence, printed on its own press. 
Mr. Peter has added a jot) [)rinting depart- 
ment to his newspaper interests and has now 
a model ])lant. To commemorate the thir- 
tieth anniversary of the Volks Zeitung in a 



fitting manner, Mr. Peter issued on August 
30, 1905, an elaborate forty-four page anni- 
versary edition, artistically illustrated and 
teanung with interesting matter, containing 
a com]ilete history of this locality in general' 
and of the Cerman element and its achieve- 
ments in particular, which is recognized as a 
]iul)lication of historic merits and one tha^t 
has won honors for the enterprising young 
|)ublisher. 

ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS. 

In addition to the Union. Argus and News, 
there are published in Rock Island the fol- 
lowing: 

By the Augustana Book Concern: Augus- 
tann (weekly), T/ie Augustana Journal (semi- 
m(Milhl\-'), Tlie Augustana Theological Quart- 
erli/. Barnens Tidning (semi-niontldy), Kors- 
haucret (annually). The Olive Leaf (monthly), 
Prarieblouinian (annually), U ngdomsvanncn 
(monthly.) 

Other periodicals: lireiadirag Church Vis- 
itor; He\ercnd ^^'iHiam S. Marquis, editor. 

Tlie Canners and Packers Direetorii oj N(/rlh 
.\>neriea: Elliot D. Fisher, publisher. 

The Fraternal Tribunes (monthly); Robert 
Hexdale, editor. 

The Moilrrn Woodman (monthl\') ; official 
l)apei- of the Modern Woodmen of America.; 
Fraid'C O. \'aiiOalder, editor. 

Mystic Light (monthly); Hcni-y V. Hurris 
(colored), publisliei'. 

Rock Ixlaiut Crtdit Rating Bonk and Dailij 
Bulletin; ]iulilished by Hock Islaml Business 
i\Ien. 

Polk's Rock Ishiud-M oline Directorij, R. L. 
Polk and Company, publishers. 

Tri-Citji Unionist; ]iublished l)y the Union- 
ist Publishing Comjiany. 

The Villa Shield; published by the Sisters 
of the Visitation. 

The Davenport Da ill/ Times, of Davenport, 
conducts a news bureau in both Rock Island 
and Moline. 



226 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



FIRST FERRIES. 

In looking over the records, we find that 
licenses for ferries were granted as follows: 
To George Daveni)ort and Joshua Vandruff, 
for a ferry across Rock River, March, 1S34; 
at the same date to George Davenport for a 
ferry across the Slough, and to Riimali Wells 
for a ferry across Rock River. 

Jonah H. Case, Antoine LcClaire and W. 
F. Rrashar were grantetl a license to run a ■ 
ferry across the Mississippi to the Iowa shore 
in March, 1835. 

Nathaniel Belcher was granted a license to 
establish a ferry across the Mississippi at 
Port Byron in March, 1837. 

In October, 1837, a ferry feud had arisen. 
John Wilson, owner of the main ferry between 
Stephenson and the Iowa shore, made an 
application to the County Commissioners for 
an "order vacating Henry Powars' ferry." 
The order was granted in 1838 "for the in- 
sufficiency f)f his boats, the want of h'ands, 
and for ferrying beyond the limits." 

FIRST HOTELS. 

The records also furnish the following, 
respecting the first licenses for hotels: To 
Jonah H. Case, July 1833. His tavern was 
the first licensed within the corporate limits 
of Rock Island, though travelers had been 
keiit at Barren's house in Farnhamsburg. 

In June, 1836, Jonathan Buffum was 
licensed to keep a. ta\crn in Stephenson. At 
the same session of tlie Court a tavern license 
was also granted to Henry Powars and 
Company, who built the old Rock Island 
House, which was o]iened July 4, 1837 with 
a big l)all, and torn down in 1875, to make 
room for the ]Hesent commodious brick 
structure. The old frame Rock Island House, 
having been in existence as a hotel for over 
forty years, and with tlie new one up to the 
present time, the Rock Island House has 
stood on the old corner seventy-two years. 
The old hotel uji to 1854 for a period of 



years was the old stage station — the stage 
office being in the hotel office, S. S. Stevens 
being stage agent. Stage barn accommoda- 
tions were afforded in the hotel barn where 
the feed store is on Market Square. Wlien 
the railroad got as far as Tiskilwa — ^then 
Indian Town — Joe Barnett ran a hack from 
there to Rock Island. 

The old-time landlords of the Rock Island 
House were Henry Powars, B. F. Barrett: in 
1856 Woodin and Hughitt; 1858-59, Alljert 
Tuxbury. 

In issuing the old tavern licenses, the 
County Commissioners fixed the prices for all 
kinds of liquors sold, and the rates of fare 
both for ' ' man and beast." 

At the present location of the Harper House 
there have been several differently named 
hotels. Prior to and in the early fifties, there 
was the Hadsell House, kept by James R. 
Hadsell, who, over the front door, had on the 
cap stone the three links of Odd Fellowship; 
afterwards, with improvements that came, 
was the Island City Hotel, which was built 
in 1854 by C. H. Smith. Its dimensions 
being ninety-six feet by one hundred and fo\n- 
feet, four sto:ies high, with one hundred 
sleeping rooms. Mr. Smith being its first 
landlord, with his wife, Mrs. Nancy Smith, 
as housekee]ier. In 1855 Tuxbury and Ar- 
nold were ])ro])rietors. In 1856 B. O. Stanley' 
was proprietor. Mr. C. H. Smith again took 
charge in 1858. It was afterwards called the 
Rodman House, which burned down in 1870, 
and the jn-escnt Harper House erected that 
year. The old Island City Hall, in connec- 
tion with the hotel, was where all the dances, 
lectures and shows were held before Dart's 
Hall was built. 

The American House, built ojiposite the 
Court House on Orleans Street, in the forties, 
Mathias Stem being proprietor. On this site, 
in 1856, was built the Farnam House, a four- 
story brick building, with one hundred 
sleeping rooms; Stem and Delano, proprie- 
tors. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



227 



The Cirahani IIoiisc in tli(> fdrtics was bt;ilt 
oil the corner of JUiiidis ami W'ashin.iiton 
Streets — the Rock Ishuid National Hank 
corner — where was aftci-wanls liuilt the City 
Hotel, a three-story Iirick luiildint;-. At one 
time there was a butcher shop there. 

Ohio House, corner of Madison and liock 
River Streets; \. H. (lar\er, propi'it'lor. It 
is still standing; nsed for business and |iri\-ate 
uses; a one-story lii'ick business block snr- 
rouiulinii il \\est and soulli. 

Mansion House. Hnffalo Street, south of 
\\'ater Street. David Noonau, the first 
pi-oprietor, followed by his brother, Patrick 
Noonan. 

Tnion House. .Madison Street, op]iosite 
Spencer Square. l'roi)i-ie(ors, 1 S").")-1S.3S- 
1S().i, William P.. (). Skellon, .hdin Saruent. 
T. S. Teal. And then we had the old Sham- 
rock on Adams Street, between Illinois and 
Orleans, kept by .lames l!rodericd\. Later the 
P.lack Hawk on the levee, west of Madison 
Street, kept by Hugh Conwell; but these were 
two large boarding houses, anil in their day 
well known. In early I'afting days, when the 
rafts tied up for the night, the levee was a 
rough s])ot; with cheap low shows, and 
drunken rafters, is was tough. 

FIRST MAliP.IACi^S. 

The first marriage solenmized in the County, 
so far as the records sliow. was by .lolui W. 
Spiencer, one of the County Commissioners, 
the [nirties being James ]j. Rurtis and .\nge- 
line Reardsley. The license was issued July 
13, 1833, and the marriage ceremonj^ imme- 
iliately followed. The second license was 
issued to Benjamin (Joble and Rarbary \'an- 
druff, August 22, 1833. The third was issued 
Ai)ril 1, 1834, to Adrian H. Davenport and 
Harriet Sililey, who were married the same 
day by Colonel Davenport, County Ciuu- 
missioner. 

Tlie first seven years of the County's legal 
existence, the issue of marri;i,ge licenses stofxl 
as follows: In 1833, two; in 1S3J, three; 



in 183."), six; in 183G, twenty-one; in 1837, 
eleven; in 1S3S, twenty-tlu-ce; in 1839, 
twenty-eight: in 1840, thirty-three. 

(leorge L. Davenport was the first white 
child born in this section of the country.- He 
was born on IIk^ island in 1817, and was the 
eldest son of Colonel (leiJi'ge Da\'enport. 

OLD Sl'.TTLKRS ASSOCIATION OF ROCK 
ISLAND COUNTY. 

Preliminai'v ])rocc('dings for the organiza- 
tion of an Old Settlers Association were com- 
meiH-ed on the 11th day of December, 18G5, 
li\' notices published in the Rock Island 
Affiii'? and the Ro(d< Island Union, calling a. 
meeting at Jacob Norris and Company's book 
store on the ex'ening of W'erlnesday, Decemlier 
13, ISO."). On (hat exening ten or twelve old 
settlers assembled. Charles H. Case, esquire, 
was ai)pointed chairnnin, and Major Frazer 
Wilson, secretary. A committet^ on organi- 
zation was appoint(Ml, cDiisisting of Jacol) 
Norris, Doctoi- P. (iregg, William Bell, John 
H. EIn- and Daniel Reals. 

January 10, l.StHi, the association wa.s 
formed and named (lie 01<1 Settlers Associa- 
tion of Rock Island County. The meeting 
was held at the Court House, and a constitu- 
tion and by-laws adopted. An annual festi- 
val and gathering was also oi-dered to be held, 
and all persons who were residents of Rock 
Island County i)rior to December 31, 1845, or 
who married wives who were in the Coimty 
at that time, were eligible to membership, 
together with their children or descendants. 
At this meeting thii'ty-four members were 
enrolled. The first annual festival was held 
in Raljcock's Hall in the ' 'ity of Rock Island, 
on Thursday, Februarv 22, 1866. August 29, 
1890, the elegibility to membership was 
ad\'anced from 184.5 to 18.50. August 27, 
189.5, the association adopted a resolution 
advancing the eligibility to niembcrshij) from 
18.50 to 185;5. 

August 30, 1906, the constitution of the 
association was amended so tluit all old 



228 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



settlers prior to December 31, ]S4.'), shouM 
be eligible to iiienibcrship as " jMoiieers," and 
to so remain. As to the eligibility of an 
"old settler,'' the time was extended to a 
date, prior to Dceember 81, 1860, and be 
brought down one year each year thereafter. 
All actual members of the Old Settlers Asso- 
ciation jirior to 1S46 ar(> considered as 
"jjioneers," anil only those are eligible to the 
presidency of the association. 

Tlie annual meetings for the election of 
officers were formerly held on the first Mon- 
day in Feliruary of each year, and a social 
rennii)ii and picnic on each l'\iurth of July, 
and an annual su])per on the 22nd of Febru- 
ary — Washington's Birthday. Rut later 
years the business meetings and reunions are 
held in the Fall of the year, and at Black 
Hawk's Watch Tower. These occasions are 
usually fraught with good cheer on the ]iart 
of the old settlers who assemble to renew 
their fellowships of "Auld Lang Syne," and 
recall recollections of forty, fifty and sixty 
years ago, when Indians' wigwams \\ere 
more plentiful in this region than the cabins 
of white settlers. There are few living, who 
rememlier those earliest days, as most of the 
"])ioneers" have passed away. 

FAMOUS CRIMFS OF HOCK ISl.AXl) 
COUNTY. 

Since the mills of justice ha\'e been estab- 
lished in this County there have been numer- 
ous murders committed. For most of the 
cases the guilty ])arties were punished, si.x 
men in all ha\'ing been hung for four separate 
crimes. Some served terms in tiie peniten- 
tiary, and one cheated the gallows by com" 
mitting suicide. Of course there have been 
a nundjer of mysterious m 'rders for Avhich 
the guilt was never placed. 

From an liistorical standjioint, the most 
conspicuous crime committed in the County 
wa^ tl;e murder of Colonel Ceorge l)aven))ort, 
whicli occurreil July 4, 1S4.'5, on tlie Island of 



Rock Island; a record of which will be found 
in his biography in this book. 

The most revolting series of crimes com- 
mitted by one man in the county's history is 
also the most recent, the public being doubt- 
less still familiar with the revelations concern- 
ing his career and his self inflicted expiation 
when confronted with ex])osure of his bloofly 
deeds. Henry Rastian, a farmer living two 
miles south of Milan, in March, 1S!)6, was sus- 
pected of having caused the death of Fred 
Kuschmann, a young man who had been 
woi'king for him and who was found dead 
Ijcside the road on the night of February 29. 
Seeing that he would soon be arrested he 
com' itted suicide by hanging. Since that 
time tlie remains of two men, supposed to be 
those of .John Lauderbach and Fred Kreinsen, 
who were at one time employed by Bastian, 
ha\'(' been found on tlu; ])lace. Five others 
of his hired men disa]i]ieared mysteriously 
and it is l>elie-\-ed that they were all murderetl. 
P>astian's plan was to emplf)y a man till the 
unpaid wages due had reached a ci.nsiderable 
sum, and then murder them. 

The first murder committed in the county 
was that of Lawyer Philleo, of Port Byron, 
who was shot and killed by John McKinley 
in 1843. The latter served a term in jirison 
for the deed. 

December 17, 1856, Samuel Ingram shot 
and killed his wife, the crime being com- 
mitted a short distance east of Joslin, in 
Zuma Township. The murderer was tried, 
convicted and hung upon a scaffold east of 
the Henry Case residence in South Rock 
Island. 

David Stoddard, in the Spi'ing of 1854, 
killed his wife with an axe, tlie deed being 
committed at the home of the couple at the 
present southeast corner of Fourth Avenue 
and Twenty-third Street. He escaped from 
the city and remained at large for some time. 
Upon lieing arrested he was tried and con- 
victed of t'.ie crime, paying the full penalty. 

William Heihvagon mui'dered the wife of 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



229 



his son at her home in Hampton Township, 
the crime being coHiHiitted in the Fall of 
ISSl. Tlie weapiiii used was a corn knife, 
and tlie hotly was hidden in a shock of corn. 
He was hanged for the crime in the jail yard 
March 24, 1882. 

I'rank .Anderson, of Moline, on Noveinher 
21, 1897, made an attenipt upon the life of 
Chai'les Condii, a fellow workman, and was 
sent to the penitentiary for fixe years. 

W. .1. i'A-ans, Panl J.ohrman, H. H, lihihin 
and W. !{. Carlson, all of Moline, were held 
for the murder of Charles .Minne, of th.at city, 
Sejitemher 26, 1901, hut were ac.quitte(l the 
following Decemher. 

On A])ril 7, 1876, John R. Stayl->ack was 
killed hy being stal)bed in the head with a 
knife. David .J. \'anMeter was held for the 
murder, hut was acquitteil" May i;! of the 
same year. 

A case winch atti'acted a great deal of 
attention was the grave robbery committed 
at Rapids City, January 19, 1900. Arthur 
1). l''arher, Charles ]>on:dioo and Charles 
Jasjierson were indicted for robbing the grave 
of Mrs. Christine Maurer, Farl)er pleaded 
guilty and turned state's evidence, going to 
the penitentiary, but was afterwards ])aroled. 
Donahoo was acquitted and Jasjjerson was 
sent to tlie jienitentiary. 

Carl Wendt, a tishcrmaii, was found dead 
in his boat near Cordova during the Summer 
of 1901. The Stiles brothers, also fishermen, 
of Princetoi:, were held for the nnu'der but 
were acquitted. 

Alfelia Boetjer was thrown into the Mis- 
sissii)i)i ]ii\-er from the I\ock Island hriilge in 
the Summer of 188G, after being choked. Hej- 
husband, James Boetjer, was arrested and 
indicted for the crime, but was acquitted at 
tlie January term of Court following. 

In September, 1867, Dax'id Ivlgington shot 
and killed Hiram Hevnolds. He was tried 
and convicteil the following October and 
received a life sentence. 



Seiitember, 1859, Jesse W. liallard was 
struck on the head with a club and killed. 
Jesse Farrell was convicted of the crime but 
was never ajiprehended. 

Patrick Ciaiiey, James McCorma(d< and 
Patrick (Iro.uaii killed Conrad Whittick No- 
vember 11, 1n79. on the .Ninth Street Road, 
outside the cily limits, by striking him with 
a stone. (Irogaii went to prison foi- life, 
(laney got fourteen yi'.ai-s ;ind Mc('orma(d< 
was ac(]uitted. 

\\'iniaiu I)idaii, .Xicolas Schlitz, William 
l')hiii-, .John booney, — Lynch, Timothy 

Piullei-. Halse\' Hammond, .John Calagher, 
.lohn Campbell, (Hi\i'r ( 'liaiidaii.ais and .lames 
Cronan killed William Armstead, alias .-Vrm- 
strong, oil boai'd the steamer Dubuque, with 
sticks of wood ami pieces of coal. .Fuh' 29, 
1869. The accused took a change oi' venue to 
Henry County, where they were convicted. 

.lohn K;i\anaugh, Rernanl Heene\-. Charles 
Ross and Pat Heeney killed Joseph Rosen- 
lield, a |ioliceman, March 12, 1N79, on the 
streets of Rock Island. ,Iolin Ka\anaugli 
was sentenced for life, Pat Heeney for four- 
teen years. 

Other cases of l(>ss sensational character 
were: Alexander .\hhott, charged with the 
murder of Patrick Mcdiirtrv, June 24, i860. 
The defendant was found not guilty January 
14, 1865. Jasper Hampton, Turner Hamil- 
ton and Joseidi Langley were imlicted for the 
murtler of Charles S. Beau July 9, 1859, but 
were found not guilty. Harry Brookman 
was indicted for the murder of (Irant Buffum 
at Andalusia in May, 188(), hut was acquitted. 
Mable Lagrange and Elsa M. Boyer were 
indicted in May, 1893, for throwing a child in 
the ri\'er, hut insane, and the case was nolle 
proffsed as to Elsa Jioyer. James I5erry and 
Leslie Barker were indicted in -Mai'cli, 1880, 
for killing Anthony Evans, hut were acquitted. 
.Andi'ew (i. Johnson was indicted in September 
1863, for the murder of Lorona Roe; a change 
a \'eiuie was taken and the case tried in 
Henry County. At the September term of 



230 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COU NjT Y 



Court, 1875, John Martens was tried for the 
murder of John Brace; he was found guilty 
and sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary. 
George Erbst, was indicted January 7 for 
killing James Jackson on Market Square with 
a knife; he was found guilty and was sentenced 
to the penitentiary for seventeen and a half 
years. Joseph Mclntyre was indicted Janu- 
ary 7, 1871, for the murder of Andrew J. 
Harris, but was acquitted. George W. Janes 
was found guilty of the murder of Robert 
McClusky in May, 1867, and was sentenced 
to the penitentiary for three years. Rritta 
Nelson, of Rapids City, was indicted May 5, 
1876, for the nuu-tler of Peter Nelson, the 
weapon used being an axe. She was found 
guilty, but insane. Samuel Robertson was 
indicted January 22, 1886, for the murder of 
Hans Timmerman, but was acquitted Fel)- 
ruary 6, 1886. Benjamin Thompson, .4dam 
Reiling, William Patterson and Mary Patter- 
son were indicted at the September term of. 
Court, 1859, for the murder of a male child 
by crushing its head; they were acquitted at 
the January term, 1860. 

June, 1905, a very sensational murder 
occurred at a cabin boat on Island B, when 
either Josephine Collet or William Nagel shot 
Carl August Brady, to gain possession of his 
little boat house, for which they were arrested. 
From the story of the accused the two sat on 
the porch of the house boat, and Brady enter- 
ing the cabin to get some provisions, one of 
the two shot him, while he was leaning over 
a stove in the opijosite end of the boat. In 
a valise was found a hammer, which Jose- 
phine Collet said Nagel struck Brady. The 
body was found in a cave near by. He had 
some money and otiier effects, which they 
disposed of, mostly in Muscatine. Josephine 
Collet was released on technicalities, while 
Nagel was consigned to the penitentiary for life. 

PORT BYRON ACADEMY. 

The Port Jiyron Academy was established 
in Port Byron mainly through the efforts of 



Reverend A. A. Harper. His son, E. T. 
Harper was the first principal. The school 
was started in 1881 in the second story of the 
building now occupied by Adrian and Witter's 
implement store, in the Dorrance Block. It 
has a strong .41umni, numbering among its 
members many prominent men and women. 
Professor M. J. Yolton, a graduate of the 
institution, is its present principal. 

The Port Byron .\cademy is located at 
Port Byron, one of tiie oldest towns in Rock 
Island County, lies on the slo]iiiig hillside of 
the east bank of the Mississippi. The situa- 
tion is healthful and the scenery of the river 
and bluffs is noted for its beauty. The 
village has some eight hundred inhabitants 
and has a high moral and social tone. In 
many respects it is a New England town. It 
has a quiet, intellectual atmosphere well 
suited to an earnest pursuit of studies. It 
stands about thirteen miles north of Moline, 
and is on the new main line of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad to Kansas 
City. It is also reached by the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy railroad, and by ferry 
to LeClaire, with the Interurban line to 
Davenport and Clinton. 

Tlie purpose of the academy is to supply a 
high grade of scholastic education under the 
best of Christian influences. It attem])ts to 
give the broadest and best culture combined 
with a practical education for every day life. 
It plans to use the latest methods and to 
keep abreast with all the advances in modern 
learning. 

The academy is a chartered institution 
under the direct control of the board of trus- 
tees. It has the hearty support of the Rock 
River and Davenport, Iowa, Association of 
Congregational Churches and is under their 
general supervision. 

Beloit College takes an active part in pro- 
moting the interests of tiie academy, in 
secunng and directing its teachers, in plan- 
ning its com-ses of study. 



PART TWO 



Biographical History of Rock Island County's 

Early Settlers and Leading 

Business Men 



Biographical 



COLONEL GEORGE DAVENPORT. 

COLONKl. CI'lOHdl'; DAVKNPORT was 
the first white iii.-in In iiial\r a pcrma- 
ni'til scttlcniciit in wlial is now Ruck 
Island ('iiiinty, ai'ri\in,i; lici'r in tiic s|irin,ii of 
ISKi. He was a native of iMii^iand. horn in 
Lincolnshire, in 17S.'5. At the a,i;-e of se\en- 
teen he enlisted as a sailor on a merchant 
vessel, and for the next three years he visited 
France, Spain and I'orlii^al. In the f.all of 
1S03 his vessel sailecl from l.i\'er|>ooI lo St. 
Petersburg, Rtissia, ;ind shoi-tly after its af- 
rival there an eml)ari;ii was laiil npon all iMig- 
lish vessels in that port, the \essels laken 
possession of and their crews thrown into 
prison hy the Russian (iovernment. In the 
following spring they were releasetl ;ind I'e- 
tin-ned honH\ The next voyage was to New 
York, in the sunimei- of 1,S()4, where they 
arrived in safety. .After discharging their 
cargo and taking anotlier on l>o.'U'(l foi- !,i\-er- 
pool, as the vessel was on the point of sailing, 
one of the sailors was knocked overboard. 
Mr. I)aven])orl ipiickly jumped into a sni:ill 
boat and rescued him. in jiun]iing into the 
boat he fractured his leg very badly and, 
there l)eing no surgeon on board, the captain 
had hint taken to the city and pilaced in a hos- 
|"»ital, returning without him. After remain- 
ing in the hospital about two months, he was 
advised to go into the country to recruit his 
health. Acting upon this advice, he went to 
Rahway. New Jersey, and s\ibsequently to 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he afterward 
enlisted in the regular army. 

In the spring of 1S06 he went with his 
regiment to New Orleans, and in (he fall re- 



cei\-ed onlers to m;u-ch to S;ibine River. 
While there, he was sent with dispatches to 
l''ort Adams, and while on the way his canoe 
struck a snag and he was upsel in the river. 
Clinging to some drift-wood, he manageil to 
l-e;icli the shoi'e, anil was then obliged to 
strike acros.s the country to the Mississippi, 
Irax'eling over swami)s, bayous and sloughs, 
lie was several days in reaching the fort, 
living upon, what lierries and wild fi'uit he 
could find. I''or ten years he serx'cd his 
adople(l country as a soldier, jirincipally 
against the Indians. In the second war with 
(Ireat Hritian the iu<isl important battle he 
was (Migaged in was that of Lundy Lane. He 
secured a British musket at this battle, which 
is still kept in the family as a relic of the war. 
On receiving his discharge in 1SL5, he was 
em])loyed by Colonel William Morrison, of 
Kentucky, government contractor, to supply 
the troops with provisions. Going to St. 
Louis, he took charge of several keelboats, 
loaded with provisions. A large drove of 
cattle were also ]iurchased and driven through 
the ci)untry. They started up (he river and 
arri\'ed at the mouth of the Des Moines 
River late in the fall and concluded to stop 
there for the winter. In the spring of bSlG, 
in com]iany with Colonel Lawrence, in com- 
mand of the I'aghth Regiment Ignited States 
Infantry, (hey again end)arked on lio.ais and 
proceeded up the river. Arriving at the 
mouth of Rock River, they examined the 
country for a site for a fort, resulting in the 
selection of the lower end of Rock Island as 
the most suitable point. They landed on 
Rock Island May 10, 1S16, and here Mr. 
I)a\'enport made liis home until his death. 



HISTORIC ROC K I S LAND C U N T Y 



His residence, a double log cabin, was near 
the foot of the island, where he subsequently 
erected a large two-story frame house. 

The Indians at that time were not very 
friendly to the Americans, but soon took a 
fancy to Mr. Davenport, giving him the name 
of Sag-a-nosh, meaning "an Englishman." 
During the second year, with what little 
money he had saved, he purchased a stock of 
goods and began trading with the Indians. 
As an Indian trader he was remarkably suc- 
cessful, securing and retaining their good will 
and confidence, although for a time he had 
more or less trouble with the Winnebagoes, at 
one time narrowly escaping being murdered. 

In 1 823 the first steamboat, the ' ' Virginia," 
arrived at the island loaded with provisions 
for Prairie du Chien, and Mr. Davenport was 
called niHin to pilot her over the rapids. 

In 1S25 a postofhce was established upon 
the island, with Mr. Davenport as postmas- 
ter. He held the office until its removal to the 
main land, on the organization of the county. 

In 1827 he visited his native land, after an 
absence of twenty-three years, returning in 
1828. 

During this year the first settlements were 
made in this vicinity. As they were poor Mr. 
Davenport furnished many of them with 
provisions and groceries until they could 
raise a crop. When the Indians returned in 
the spring of 1829, Mr. Davenport u.sed all 
his influence to induce them to remove to 
the west side of the Mississippi, and partially 
succeeded. Wapello removed his village 
to Muscatine Slough, and Keokuk, with part 
of the Sacs, to the Iowa River, but Black 
Hawk and the remainder of the Sacs refused 
to go, claiming that they never had sold their 
lands. During the Black Hawk War that 
followed, Mr. Davenport was ap]iointed quar- 
ter-master general, with the rank of colonel. 

On the organization of the county. Colonel 
Davenport was elected one of the first county 
commissioners, and served some two or three 
years. 



In the fall of 1835, in company with sev- 
eral others, he purchased a claim of Antoine 
Le Claire, across the river in Iowa, and pro- 
ceeded to lay out a town. This town was 
given the name of" Davenport," in his honor. 

In the fall of 1837 he visited Washington 
City, in company with a number of chiefs of 
the Sac and Fox Nations, and aided the 
Government in the purcha.se of a large por- 
tion of Iowa. In 1842 Governor Chambers 
made another treaty with the Sacs and Foxes. 
He told the chiefs to select any of their white 
friends they might choose to assist them in 
making a treaty. They selected Colonel 
Davenport as one of four. By this treaty 
the Indians sold all of their lands within the 
State of Iowa. Shortly after this, Colonel 
Davenport withdrew from the Indian trade 
and de\'nted the remainder of his life to the 
improvement of his property in Davenport 
and Rock Island. 

"Colonel Davenport," said a well known 
writer, "was of a very free and generous dis- 
position, very jovial and very fond of com- 
pany. After retiring from the Indian trade, 
he spent the winters generally in St. Louis or 
W' ashington. Whether traveling on a steam- 
boat or stopping at a hotel, he would always 
have a crowd around him listening to his 
stories and anecdotes. He never sued any 
one in his life, and could not bear to see any 
one in distress without trying to relieve him. 
He enjoyed excellent health and spirits, and 
had a prospect of living many years to enjoy 
the comfort for which he had toiled so hard, 
but he was struck down by one of a band of 
robbers, in his own house, on the fourth of 
July. 184.5. He died aged sixty-two." 

The life of Colonel Davenport was a long 
and active one. "Although of trans-Atlantic 
extraction," says the writer already quoted 
from, "he was a true type of the American, 
possessing indomitable resolution, a restless 
desire to progress, with an invincible deter- 
mination to overcome obstacles and achieve 
success. Much as his courage, perseverance, 



// / S T U R I C R C K I S L A N I) C U N T Y 



enterprise and ahiliiy dcinand adniiratidn, 
there is still something more than these com- 
manding our respect and honor — something 
which is more lustrous than wealth, better 
than position or title: it is his 1/ inndiiitt/. 
Had men of his bias dealt with Black Hawk 
and his 'British Ham.!,' less gory seal]) hud'Cs 
would have decketl the belts of warring sav- 
ages, less blood would have been shed, and 
the entire fearful drama of devastation, 
slaughter and carnage which was enacted 
upon our frontiei-s, would hav(> been wholly 
omitted. Honor to his ashes! He slee])s in 
a gravis whose proud epitajjli reads: "Here 
lies a friend to humanity!'" 



JUDGE JOHN W. SPENCER., 

JV\n,i: .JOHN W. SPKNCKK, deceased, 
one of the pioneers of Rock Island 
County, was born at Vergennes, Vermont, 
July 25, 1801, His parents, Calvin and Ruth 
(Hopkins) Spencer, were natives of the New- 
England Colonie.s, The father of Judge 
Spencer was born in Bennington, Vermont, 
and his mother near Great Barrington, Mas- 
sachusetts, and were descended from the 
Puritan English, They reared four sons and 
a daughter, John W., being the eldest. At 
this writing the first and seconii generations 
here mentioned are long since gathered unto 
their fathers, and only the grandchildren and 
great-great-grandchildren renuiin to perpetu- 
ate names made honorable in the earliest 
history of our cotuity. From the two fami- 
lies united by the marriage of Calvin Spencer 
and Ruth Hopkins, in the very l)eginning (jf 
the past century, nuinj' noble men have 
sprung- — men who have adorned alike the 
pulpit and the state; and if it were po.ssible 
in the space at our command to trace the 
genealogy of the Spencers and the Ho]ikinses 
from the days when some of their ancestors 
were enforcing in a judicial capacity, the 



quaint okl laws that forbade travel on the 
Sabbath except in a pious going to and from 
the Church of God, — laws that allowed no 
whistling or other boisterous conduct on that 
sacred day; laws, indeed, that forbade "ye 
good man ye kissing of his wife on ye Sab- 
bath day" — if it were possible, we say, to 
follow the history of those families from their 
periwigired "scpiire-archy " down to the 
death-l)ed scene at Rock Island, February 
20, 1S7S. from whence the spirit of John W. 
S]iencer took its flight, the roster would con- 
tain many names that gootl ])eople have 
rc\'('re(l. But the pi-o\ince of the present 
liicigraplier is limiteel to .-i bare recital of the 
more important events occurring in the life 
of the gentleman whose name forms the cap- 
tion of this sketch. The lives of Spencer, 
Da\-enpoi-t, Wells, Case and Varidruff are all 
intlelibly stamped upon the history of a 
great state. Unlike a majority of men of 
whom «(• write, they made history; without 
such men there would have been no history 
to write. Wliat we know of the hills, the 
forests and the streams, unpeopled l)y the 
hardy pioneer and those who followed them, 
would be a chapter easily written. A famous 
writer has said that the history of a coun- 
try is but a story of the lives of the men who 
make it. The history of Rock Island County 
from the Indian occupation down to the 
time when a knowledge of events shall cease 
to lie perpetuated in print will reflect the life 
of Spencer, — and that, too, whether his biog- 
rajiliy, as such, were ever written. 

John W. Spencer spent his youth in his 
native state and at the common schools ac- 
([uii-ed the rudiments of an education. In 
1.S20, driving a two-horse team for Mr, Brush, 
he crossed the Alleghany Mountains, traversed 
the broad states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, 
and at the end of fifty-one days from the time 
of his leaving home, landed in the City of St. 
Lo\iis. The State of Missouri was just then 
being admitteil into the Union, and as negro 
slavery was, by the constitution, made legal, 



6 



// / ,S' T R I C RO C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



Mr. Spencer preferred to cast his lot east of 
the "Father of the Waters". So in Decem- 
ber following his dei)arture from New Eng- 
land, in company with an uncle who had been 
a resident of Missouri, he recrossed the Miss- 
issippi and took u]) a residence in Greene 
Coimty, Illinois. Here he stopped for seven 
years and worked at farming. In the spring 
of 1826, in search of a location for a water 
mill, he ascended the lllinoi.s River as far as 
Ottawa. Failing to tliscover any site to his 
fancy, he retraced his steps and the following 
spring ascended the Mississippi to the lead 
mines. On this trip his attention was at- 
tracted by the natural beauty of Rock Island 
antl the adjacent counti'von either side of the 
river, and when in the following year he 
learned that the Indians had abandoned the 
Rock River Territory, he decided to go at 
once to Rock Island. He was accompanied 
here by Mr. Louden Case, Sr., whose daughter 
he afterward mari'ied. 

At that period Galena, one hundred miles 
distant, was the nearest ])ostoftice. The 
presidential election had just taken place, 
but nothing was known at Rock Island of the 
result. For a consideration young Spencer 
undertook, on foot, to carry the mailbags to 
and bring the election returns from Galena. 
The river was frozen, he donned his skates 
and set out. His route was through the not 
altogether friendly Winnebago country, but 
he encountered no difficulty from that source, 
and on Christmas Day, 1827, he started on 
the return trip, landing three days later at 
Rock Island; and the people learned that 
' ' Old Hickory " was president elect of the 
United States. It nnist almost have taken 
his breath away when the sum of five dollars 
was placed in his hands in jiaymcnt for a 
two hundred mile run on foot through a hos- 
tile Indian country in the dead of winter. 

In the spring of 1829 he brought his family 
from Morgan County (whither they had re- 
moved the year before from Greene) to Rock 
Island and took possession of a vacant Indian 



wigw.am. From that day to the hour of his 
death, J. W. Spencer was a citizen of Rock 
Island. He witne.s.sed the return of Black 
Hawk from his hunting expedition, to find 
his lodges occupied by the "pale-faces"; he 
heard the angry and reasonable protests of 
that great chief, against the encroachments 
ui)on his natural rights; he heard his sorrow- 
ftil argument " Savikie-wigeop-saukie-aukie " 
repeated many times to no purpose, and saw 
the great chief stride away toward the set- 
ting sun, where he told his people that the 
storv of the occupancy of their lands by the 
white men was too true. He saw the chief 
and his people come again, and in common 
with other settlers, knew the purpose of their 
coming; he knew the po.ssibilities of their 
discontent, and feared that the Indian was 
bent upon revenge. He noted the first out- 
break of their savage insubordination; saw the 
culmination of their ferocity as it rose in lurid 
lights from burning cabins, and disturbed the 
elements with the screams of l.uitchered women 
and children. He saw the swift-footed pioneers 
as they ptu-siied the savage destroyers, and saw 
the strong arm of the Government as it de- 
scended upon the wily Sac and his warriors at 
Bad Axe, — and he saw peace reign supreme in 
the valley of the MississipjM. 

In all the struggles of the Rock Island 
pioneers Mr. Spencer participated. During 
the Black Hawk War he was one of the or- 
ganizers of the "Rock River Rangers", in 
which coui|)any h(> held the rank of first 
lieutenant. He was a member of the first 
board of Rock Island County Commissioners, 
and held the office twelve years. He was 
the first judge of the Rock Island County 
Court, and as such performed the first mar- 
riage ceremony in the county. He was a 
delegate to the Illinois State Constitutional 
Convention in 1847, and in this body he was a 
conspicuous factor. Though public-spirited, 
he had no ambition for office-holding, his only 
experience in that line being confined to a 
time when his country actually needed and 



// / .S T () R I r ROC K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



demanded his services. In 1841 he, witli 
David B. Sears, Spencer H. White, ami 
Ainsworth and l.ynde, merchants at Rock 
Island, built the first dam erected at Moline, 
and developed the great water power at that 
place. At the death of Captain J. Wilson, 
the father of his second wife, in 1852, he suc- 
ceeded to a controlling interest in the Rock 
Island and Davenport. Ferry, a most valuatjle 
property, a large revenue from which still 
goes to the family. Mr. Spencer died as he 
lived, a conscientious Christian. He was a 
memhcr of the Methodist I']])iscopal Church, 
and brought his children uj) to a strict obser- 
vance of that faith. One of his sons, the 
Rev. William Anson Spencer, is presiding 
elder of Di.xon District, I^)ck River Con- 
ference, Illinois. 

The first Mrs. Spencer, nee Miss Louisa 
Case, died in IS.'!:-!, Icax'ing one son, ,Jolin C. 
Spencer, who died .lanuary I(j, 1871. In 
1834 Judge Spencer married Miss Eliza Wil- 
son, of New Haven, Vermont. She was the 
accomplished daughter of Captain John Wil- 
son, deceased. Of the six children, three only 
are living: Edward W., Julia S. (Mrs. I). T. 
Robinson) and the Rev. W^illiam Anson 
Spencer, of the Dixon District. John C. is 
deceased. Their son Charles H. was acciden- 
tally drowned when eighteen years of age in 
Rock River, and their youngest born, Roswell 
(1., die(l when about three years of age. 



PHILEMON L. MITCHELL, 

IN RECALMNO to mind those men who in 
an early day laid tlie fouiulation of Ro<'k 
Island's present commercial and financial 
stability, one's memory instinctively turns 
to an individual who, during his lifetime, was 
instrumental in organizing and conducting 
one of the largest banking houses in Rock 
Island County, and who was a tower of moral 



and financial strength in the comnnuiity, 
Philemon L. Mitchell, ileceased. 

He was born October 16, 1812, at Linungton, 
Maine, and died at his home in Rock Island 
January 23, 1895. His parents were Isaac 
and Martha (Libby) Mitchell. The father 
was a native of Maine and the mother of Ire- 
land, she having come to America with her 
parents in her early childhood. To this 
couple seven children were born, four sons 
and three daughters. The parents spent 
tlieir lives in the City of l.imington, where 
their family was born and reared, the father 
dying in that city January 26, 1853, at the 
age of eighty-two years. The death of the 
mother occiu'red in the same city January 3, 
1877, she having attaineil the extreme age of 
ninety-four years. 

Phih-mon L. Mitchell spent his early boy- 
liddd in l.imington, his school days being 
limited to a short attendance in that city's 
public schools. Hut his education was not 
in any sense a limited one on that account, 
for he was throughout his life a student of 
men and books. At the age of thirteen years 
he found it necessary to face the world for 
himself and earn his own livlihood. Although 
obliged so early in life to participate in its 
grim struggle, he was imbued with determin- 
ation to succeed and was undaunted in his 
efforts to that end. At the age of twenty- 
five he located in fieorgetown, Kentucky, 
where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. 
He continued in the mercantile business until 
1850, when he was made cashier of the Farm- 
ers' Bank of Kentucky, a financial institution 
familiar in those days to every business man 
south of the Mason and Dixon Line. For 
years a note issued by this bank was equiva- 
lent to gold in any state in the Union. 

In 1856 Mr. Mitchell severed his connection 
with that bank, and in company with P. L. 
Cable came to Rock Island. They bought 
out the banking firm of Cook, Sargent A: Par- 
ker, established 1852. The partnership was 
continued until 1860, when Judge Cornelius 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Lynde took over ]\Ir. Cable's interest in the 
concern, which was continued under the 
name of Mitchell iV- Lynde until 1905. At 
this date the form of organization was changed 
to that of a state bank, and the institution is 
now known as the State Bank. 

In 1858 Mr. Mitchell and his partner jjur- 
chased the building and other assets of the 
old Rock Island Bank and closed up its af- 
fairs, thus succeeding in eliminating almost 
entirely any competition in the field of bank- 
ing in this vicinity for a number of years. At 
the outbreak of the Civil War. Mr. Mitchell 
was the most widely known and successful 
Ininker in this section of Illinois, and in addi- 
tion to his acknowledged financial strength 
and business ability he bore a deserved reini- 
tation for scru]iulous integrity and probity in 
every commercial transaction. These facts 
led to his appointment Ijy the famous New 
York banking institution of Jay. Cook it 
Company, America's financial (libraltar at 
that time, as their correspondent for Rock 
Island County. Acting as the agent of this 
firm, he placed over .111, 000,000 worth of 
United States Government Bonds in this 
county. In considering the magnitude of 
this transaction it must be borne in mind that 
the sum of .11,000,000 bore the same relation 
to the financial world of that day that $25,- 
000,000 or even .150,000,000 would to the 
financial world of today. 

In 1862 the First National Bank of Rock 
Island, charter No. 108, was organized by 
Mr. Mitchell, and he was elected its presi- 
dent. He was also president of the Rock 
Island Plow Company and secretary of the 
Chippiannock Cemetery Association, as well 
as a large stock holder and director in the 
Moline and Rock Island Street Railway 
Company, the Rock Island Glass Works, and 
the Rock Island Stove Company. 

On October 11, 1837, at Exeter, New 
Hampshire, occurred the marriage of Mr. 
Mitchell and Miss Catherine Hall, a young 
lady of that cit}-. There were born to them 



five children, four daughters and a son: 
Annie M., widow of Wm. C. Wadsworth; 
Mary H., widow of Henry Wadsworth; Phil, 
president of the State Bank of Rock Island, 
whose biographical sketch appears elsewhere 
in this work; Laura M., deceased, who was 
the wife of Charles Shaler, United States Ar- 
my, and Kate M., wife of Henry S. Fraser, of 
Indianapolis, Indiana. The death of Mrs. 
Mitchell occurred October 4, 1868. 

Mr. Mitchell throughout his life was a con- 
sistent and devoted member of the Christian 
Church, and to his memory has been erected 
the new Memorial Christian Church by his 
daughter, Mrs. Mary H. Wadsworth. He 
was a man extremely liberal but wholly unos- 
tentatious in his giving. His was a true and 
simple Christian character. As he walked 
through the world he helped his fellow man 
in the best and wisest manner, not by mak- 
ing him a dependent, but liy aiding him to 
attain a position of inde]:)endence, by friendly 
counsel or sound business advice, and where 
pecuniary assistance was necessary it was 
cheerfulh' and freely given, and from his lips 
no one ever learned of the generous act. 

Such was the life of P. L. Mitchell. To 
attempt to delineate in eulogistic words his 
fine life and character would be futile. He 
was a man of quiet, natural dignity. Su- 
cessful himself, he delighted in the success of 
others. In the happy phraseology of a great 
writer he was "one of God's own gentlemen." 

SS !S J§ 

JOHN EDGllNGTON. 

THE name of Edgington is a well known 
one throughout Rock Island County- 
It is the name of one of the county's 
earliest pioneer families. It is also the name 
of one of the county's most prosperous little 
villages, named in honor of one of the founders 
of that family, John Edgington, the subject 
of our sketch, a man who in his long lifetime 



// / N T R 1 C RO C K I S L A N 1) C U N T Y 



spent in this (/(iiinty. lived ti) see it gi'ow 
from a waste of ])rairie and wilderness into a 
wonderfully fertile farming community, dotted 
here and there with busy little villages and 
cities devotecl to nianufaetui'e and conimei-eial 
enterprise. 

John Edgington was liurn July 4, ISOO.at 
Steuljenville. Ohio, and died in Marcli, 1896. 
at tlie home f)f his son, James Edgington, at 
Reynolds, in this county. 

He received his education in the common 
schools of Steubenville, Ohio, his l)irth])lace, 
and in his \-oung manho<id followed the occu- 
])ation of trading and merchandising in 
Steul)en\-ille, Ohio. In July, IS.'H, he made 
a ti'ip on horse-hack from Steulicn\ille to 
Rock Island seeking farm l.-iud, and stopping 
at a |)oint in this county decided to ])ernia- 
nently settle here. He took up a farm in 
what afterwards became Etlgington Precinct, 
this being named after him. This ])recinet 
was afterwards divided into I'klgington and 
Buffalo Prairie Townships, Mr. Edgington's 
farm being located in the latter township. 

On February 17, 1834, previous to settling 
in Rock Island County, Mr. Edgington was 
married to Miss Susan Crabbs, a young lady 
of Steubenville, and to the wilds of what was 
then an unsettled frontier, he brouglit liis 
young wife. Nine children were boni of this 
union, their eldest child, James, lieing the 
first white child born in Rock Island County 
south of Rock River. Their other children 
were Sarah; William, a son who died in infan- 
cy; Jane, now Mrs. Rufus Walker; t'asandra, 
Margaret, wife of C E. Dodge; Drusilla, 
wife of S. H. Parvin and H.nrriet, wife of 
Fred Titterington. All of the children are 
now deceased with the exception of Mrs. 
Walker and Mrs. Dodge. To her children 
Mre. Edgington often recounted her experi- 
ences when she came to Rock Island County 
a bride. For the first six months after com- 
ing here, she never saw another white wonum, 
and she was in constant fear of the Indians 
who then roamed over the comitry. Thev 



took a great fancy to her first born son, James, 
the first white baby they had ever seen, and 
the young mother received frecpient and ur- 
gent offers to trade a papoose for the while 
bab\-. This added to her fears, for she was 
ill constant terror lest the Indians great 
desire to possess her offspring might lead 
them to make a forcible exchange at some 
time when her husband was absent, Mrs. 
Edgington died at the home of Mr. Rufus 
Walker, in Reynolds, in October, LSNG. 

But to return to our account of Mr. Ivlg- 
iiigtoii. lie cleared and culti\ated his farm 
ill I'luffalo Prairie, where he made liis home 
until IS'.)4, when he sold his farm and moved 
to Reyiiolils to make his home wit li his son. 
James, where, as has been stated, lie lived 
until his death two years later. He li\-ed 
the busy life of a farmer, but found time to 
take an iiitei'est and an arli\-e part in all that 
jiertained to the aihaiiceiiieiit of the eounly. 
He was justice of the peace and school direct- 
or for more than thii-ty years. He served as 
supervisor fnun his township for several 
terms, and servetl as a juror at the first term 
of court ever held in this county. He was a 
hospitable and genial nuiii, and there was 
always a place at his table and hearth fire for 
the stranger and wayfaring man of those 
times, who was seeking a home. 

In religious faith Mr, Edgington was a 
Presbyterian, and he helped to build the first 
church of that denomination that was built 
lielow Rock River in this county. He also 
lielpe(l hew the logs and erect the first school 
house built in the lower end of the county. 
It was located about an eighth of a nule east 
of his residence. The school was supporteil 
for several years by private sul)scriptioii and 
if there was any deficit in the amount neces- 
sary to carry on the work of education, Mr. 
Edgington was always iirompt in making ujj 
the balance himself. 

In politics Mr. Edgington was always a 
staunch Democrat, and with this party he 
was a firm adherent until the silver question 



10 



// / ,S' T R I C It O (' l< I S L A N I) rOUN T Y 



became their paranimint issue. Then, not 
agreeing with the majority of his party upon 
this question, he cast his vote for William 
McKinley, but it cost him a hard struggle to 
do so. 

During his lifetime he accuniulalcd a con- 
siderable competence, and the farm that he 
owned became enhanced in value as the years 
went by until it, in itself, became worth a very 
considerable fortune. He was a man of 
great public spirit, a nuin beloved and es- 
teemed by those who knew him, and his long 
and busy life was crowned with success. 



R 



HON. T J. MEDILL. 

ANKING among Rock Island's prominent 
men, who have been honored politically 
and who have achieved a high standing in 
the realm of business, stands the sul)ject of 
this sketch, Thomas J. Medill. 

He was born in Milan, Illinois, March 16, 
1859. His parents were Thomas J. and Eliza 
A. (Dickson) Medill. The father, when a young 
man, emigrated from the north of Ireland to 
America, and here he married Miss Eliza A. 
Dickson, the daughter of William Dickson, 
and a native of Erie County, Pennsylvania. 
William Dickson, of whom a more extended 
Ijiography appears elsewhere in this volume, 
laid out the town of CamdiMi Mills, the name of 
which was afterward changed to Milan, in 
1843. Mr. Medill 's parents enjoyed a long 
and haiJ]:)y life together and were greatly 
beloved and esteemed by all who knew them. 
The death of the mother occurred February 
5, 1S9S. The father survived his wife scarcely 
a year, passing away Janiuxry 9, 1899. 

Our subject spent his boyhood and early 
manhood in the Village of Milan and on a 
farm in Bowling Township, and after com- 
pleting the curriculum prescribed by the 
village school of that period he entered upon 
'an apprenticeshiij to the pajier maker's trade. 



At that time there were three paper mills in 
active operation in the vicinity of Milan, and 
the manufacture of that commodity was one 
of the main supports of that village. After 
mastering his trade Mr. Medill continued in 
that line of occupation for seven years, when 
he was offered a jjosition in a promoting 
company which made a liusiness of installing 
the Holly system of water works machinery, 
and which was then operating in the south- 
west. Later he returned to this county and 
settled in Rock Island, opening a real estate 
office. In this business he was a pronounced 
success, his acumen and sound .judgment 
rendering him particularly coni])etent to pass 
upon realty values. Consequently, in 1SS7 
he was asked to take a leading part in the 
formation and organization of the Black Hawk 
Homestead l^uilding. Loan and Savings As- 
sociation, of which Mr. .Medill became sec- 
retary, the active management of the asso- 
ciation being entrusted to him. The success 
of the ventvire is due largely to his progressive, 
yet judicious management, and today the 
association is one of the foremost in that 
line operating in Rock Island. Mr. Medill 
still continues as its secretary and has the 
guidance of its affairs. 

In 1893 Mr. Medill was candidate for mayor 
of Rock Island upon the Democratic ticket, 
the party of his choice and of his father 
before him, and to which he has always given 
his allegiance. He was elected, and upon the 
expiration of his term he again turned his 
whole attention to the duties involved in the 
management of the Building and Loan Asso- 
ciation. In 1897 he was again a candidate, 
and was ag.'.iin elected. During Mr. Altgeld's 
administration as governor of Illinois, Mr. 
Medill was appointed by that executive as 
president of the board of trustees of the 
Illinois Western Hospital for the Insane, 
located at Watertown. At that time the 
immense institution had not been built, but 
as is customary the board of trustees was 
apjiointed before the actual erection of the 




i^y^ }U€:^tX.^<-t.4::> 




THOMAS J. MEDILL 



// / N TONIC R () (' K I S L A .V /; (' U N T Y 



11 



institution, and it became a part of their 
duties to select a site antl in a measure su])er- 
intend tlie erection of the liuildings. Lare;ely 
throniiii Wv. Medill's efforts the present site 
within this county was selected, and this 
spacious retreat for the recejition and cure of 
the mentally attlicted was commeMced durinti 
■his incundjency. In 1S96 he was proffered 
by his party the nomination for secretary of 
state for Illinois, hut declined tlie honor. Mr. 
Medill is an active partisan in Ijchalf of the 
Democratic party. Ind is as scrupulously 
fair and honoialije in ])olitical nuUters as he 
is in business transactions. He has frequently 
been a delegate to his party's city, C(uinty, 
district and state conventions. 

Mr. Metlill was cine of the organizers of the 
Rock Island Club, an institution formed for 
the promotion of the inihistrial. commercial 
antl genei'al welfai'e and ad\'ancemeiit of 
Rock Island, and which also has many 
delightful social features. Three times Mr. 
Medill has been chosen as president of the 
Rock Island Club, and he is now a member 
of the board of directors. 

Fraternally Mr. Medill is connectetl with 
the Masonic Order, of winch he has been 
elected to the office of Worshipful Master; 
the National Union; the Modern Woodmen 
of America; the Knights of the Globe; the 
Fraternal Tribunes and the Elks. Mr. Medill 
was one of the organizers of the fraternal 
society known as the Fraternal Tribunes, 
which, it will lie I'cnicndicred. was (irst formed 
in that c\Xy. Mr. Medill was one of its chief 
promoters. 

In 1903 occurred the niari'lage of .Mr. 
Medill and Miss Lucy Kinner, daughter of 
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kimu'r, of Rock Island. 
Of their union one chikl has been born, a 
daughter, Frances V. Medill. At the time of 
the writing of this sketch, Mr. Medill had 
recently piirchased one of the handsomest of 
the smaller residences in Rock Island. It is 
located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 
Nineteenth Street, and until the time Mr. 



Medill jinrchased it, was ownccl and oi'cnpicd 
by Hon. Elmore W. Hurst. 

As one of the most important works undei-- 
taken by the City of Rock Island durin.g Mr. 
^ledill's administration as mayor nuiy be 
mentioned the construction of the great sys- 
tem of reservoirs by which the city is su]iplieil 
with water, antl which l\y its trijile method 
of aerati(m, filtration and sedimentation is 
designed tf) remove the impurities naturally 
existing in the water as it is taken into the 
reservoir directly from the river. 

In coiu'Iusion it nuiy lie said of Mr. MimHII 
that as a man he is honorable, u|u-ight aiul 
conscientious; as a citizen untiring in his ef- 
forts for the ach'ancement ol Rock Island, and 
in Inisiness he possesses acumen, keen insight 
and great general ability. These have been 
the characteristics and guiding pi'iuciplcs of 
his life, and to them is due the fact tli;it he is 
one of Rock Island's most respectei.l ami 
highlv esteemed citizens. 



COLONEL STANHOPE E. BLUNT. 

Till'] history of the United States (iovern- 
ment Arsenal located upon Rock Island 
is exhaustively narrated from its incep- 
tion in another jiortion of this work. Con- 
sequently it is not the int(>ntion of the writer 
of this sketch to touch upon any phase of 
tli.'it history except the period covered by the 
regime of the present Commaiulant of Rock 
Island Arsenal, Colonel Staniio])e E. Blunt, a 
man whose executive ability has been demon- 
strated of a high order. 

Staiduipe E. Blunt was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, Septend^er I'.s, 18.50. His 
father was Colonel Charles E. BInnt. Corps 
of Engineers, United States Army, who 
graduated from the Military Academy at 
West Point in 1S4G. His mother before her 
marriage was Miss Penelope Bethune English. 
Both his father and mother were born in 



12 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Colonel Blunt's 
forebears were among the earliest colonists 
in America. His paternal ancestors rank 
among the original settlers of Massachusetts, 
who, as history records, arrived there from 
England about 1634. 

As a boy Colonel Blunt attended the public 
schools of his native city, Boston, and latei- 
the high school at Oswego, New York, from 
whicli he graduated in 1868, and thus he was 
well cpialified for entrance to West Point. 
ri)oii I he (•(iiiipletion of tlie prescribed cdurse 
of four years at the military academy, he 
gr.'iduated from that institution in 1S72 with 
the I'ank of second lieutenant, and with the 
honor of being third in his class. 

U])on his graduation he was at once as- 
signed to duty in the Thirteenth infantry, 
and in the course of a short time was |jromoted 
to a first lieutenancy. He served with his 
regiment in the states of Utah, Wyoming 
Colorado and New Mexico from .hmc 14, 
1872, until November 1, 1874, when he was 
transferred to the Ordnance Department. 
From the date of his assignment to ordnance 
service vintil 1885, Colonel Blunt was sta- 
tioned at various posts in numerous capaci- 
ties. He was for a time instructor in mathe- 
matics, and also in ordnance and gunnery at 
West Point. He was afterward stationed for 
different periods at Frankfort, Springfield and 
Watervliet Arsenals; served as chief ordnance 
officer and inspector of rifle practice at head- 
quarters' department in Dakota, and as in- 
spector of small arms practice for the army. 
On November 1, 1885, Colonel Bbint was 
assigned as aide-de-camp to General Sheri- 
dan, and served in this capacity until the 
death of that warrior-hero, which occurred 
August 5, 1888. In March, 1897, he was 
detailed commandant of Rock Island Arsen- 
al, where he has since remained. At the 
time Colonel Blunt began his tenure as com- 
mandant, the Arsenal was little more than a 
magnificent possibility. It had potential 



greatness but that greatness was undeveloped. 
To the new commandant was given the power 
to transform the possibility into a reality. 
How well he has accomplished that task can 
Ije best appreciated by those who have seen 
it grow in importance from a small manu- 
facturing plant employing a few hundred men 
to a mammoth plant employing thousands; 
who have seen the discontinuance of the an- 
tiquated application of direct water power 
and the installation of huge dynamos, driven 
by huge turbines; who witnessed the straining 
of every facility and the astounding output 
during the Spanish-American War, and lastly 
the ac(piisitiim of the Arsenal's latest industry, 
the small arms' plant, whose location at this 
point was due largely to the efforts and ad- 
vice of the commandant. These achieve- 
ments clearly show that the man was not 
merely content to sit quietly by and allow 
events to jjursue their course without lifting 
a hand to shape those events. He is pre- 
eminently a man of action. Let credit be 
given where credit is due and praise where 
praise is meet. To Colonel Stanhope E. 
Blunt is certainly due great credit and un- 
stinted praise, for certain it is that he is the 
active and important factor in the Arsenal's 
development. That he has had able assis- 
tants is true, but upon his shoulders rested 
the weight of responsibility as commandant, 
and his ability was so thoroughly recognized 
that his suggestions in regard to improve- 
ments for the Arsenal were given a ready 
hearing by his superior officers. 

November 18, 1873, Colonel Blunt was 
wedded to Miss Fanny Smyth, of Oswego, 
New York, the city of her birth, her parents 
being Charles and Catherine (Colt) Smyth. 
Both were of English descent; the father 
tracing his ancestry from the early settlers 
in Albany, New York, and the mother tracing 
her progenitors to the first pioneers in Con- 
necticut. To Colonel and Mrs. Blunt three 
daughters have been born, the Misses Kath- 




COLONEL STANHOPE K BLUNT 



H I S T R I C ROC K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



13 



erine, Evelyn Bcthune (named after her ma- 
ternal grandmother's French anc-estors.) and 
Frances Smyth Blunt. These young ladies 
have received a most careful and comprehen- 
sive education, and tak(- an active part in the 
social life of the Tri-Cities. 

Hut it is not alone for his pronomiciMl exc- 
utive ahilily .-it th(^ Rock Island Arsi'Ual that 
Colonel Hlunt has won pi-oinincnce. As an 
authority on military tactics, and as a writer 
upon technical sidjjects pertaining to martial 
affairs he has long since been accorded com- 
mendation and recognition. His books. 
"Rifle and Carbine Firing." and "Firing 
Regulations for Small Arms" lia\e reached 
the almost incredible number of sixteen edi- 
tions. 

Colonel Hlunt is a meml)er of sever;il patri- 
otic and military societies, among which may 
be mentioned the Society of Cdlonial Wars. 
Sons of the Revolution. Society nf War of 
1812. Society of Foreign Wars, Society of 
American Wars. Na\-al Ordei- nf the I'nited 
States, and the i.oyal Legion. 

How sincerely Cojcuiel lilunt's efforts to- 
ward the uplniilding of the Arsenal, not only 
by the people of the Tri-Cities. but by the 
authf>rities at Washington as well, is demi)n- 
strated by the high tribute paid him by Sena- 
tor Allison, when he declared that "Rock 
Island Arsenal, during the few months of the 
late Spanish War. more than rettu'ned in 
advantage to the country the great cost of 
its construction; and unrpiestionalily. in a 
war of any magnitude and duration, this 
cost would again be repaid many fold," 

Such is the career of Colonel Staidiope E. 
Blunt. Added comment nr fulsome eulogy 
would be futile and would only detract from 
the impression created by the simple, digni- 
fied life of the man himself. A man of few 
words and many deeds, courteous in his 
bearing toward all. is Colonel Blunt; in fine a 
thorough gentleman: a vigorous executive 
and a typical soldier. 



MORRIS ROSENFIELD. 

OXf] of Rock Island's most prominent 
and respected citizens during his life- 
time spent in that city, and whose mem- 
ory is cherished :in<l n>M'i-ed b\' all who knew 
him. was .M(ii-ri,s Rosenfield. the subject nf 
this sketch. 

He was born in \\'urttembei'g. (lermanv. 
December l.S, 1,S41, and died January 2S, 
INOO, at Tuebingen, (lermany. where he had 
g<ine in hopes that he might regain his shat- 
tered health. 

The Rosenfield family was one of the most 
respected in the little city of om- subject's 
birth, his father being r)ne of the most enter- 
prising and jiroperous citizens of Wurttem- 
bei'g. As an instance of the indomitable 
Spii-it that animated the elder Rosenfield, it 
may be related tliat after he was well jiast 
tlu'ee score years he came to America on a. 
visit to his son, .Morris, and other relatives 
located here, a very considerable undertaking 
foi- a gentleman of his years in a day when the 
luxuries of ti-a\'eling were \-erv far below 
what they are today, and when any lengthy 
jotu-ney was inevitably accompanied by delay, 
fatigue and danger. To the firm and \mfal- 
tering character of this jiatriarch the success 
of the futm-e generations of Rosenfields can be 
traced. 

Morris Rosenfield received his education 
at the high school in iMe,gentheim, Germany. 
After completing his studies in that institu- 
tion he decided to emigrate to America. He 
came to this countrj^ in 1859 when he was 
eighteen years of age. His uticles, ,f, and M. 
Rosenfield, were already engagefl in the 
wholesale leather fmsiness in Rock Island, 
and in that business their nephew foimd em- 
ployment, later becoming one of the partners. 
He sold out his interest in the leather business, 
however, in 1868, and one year later he be- 
came identified with parties who were oper- 
ating a factory in Moline, devoted to the 



14 



// / ,S' TO RI (' RO C K I S L A N I) C O U N T Y 



maniifapturo of farm wagons. This manu- 
factory with which Mr. Roscnficid was con- 
nected (Icciclcd to incorporate in 1<S72, and 
at that time he became the first president 
of what has been known ever since as The 
Moline Wagon Company, a position he held 
until the time of his death. He was practical- 
ly the founder of the company, and was 
always the life and inspiration of the concern, 
molding and guiding it through its constant 
and steady growth and by his business ability 
and foresight developing it into one of that 
city's largest and most important industries, 
and by its progress and prosperity demon- 
strating that its founder and developer pos- 
sessed talent as an organizer. 

On the 10th of November, 1874, Mr. Rosen- 
field was joined in marriage to Miss Julia E. 
Ottenheimer, and to this couple three children 
were born: Irene, wife of Samuel Stra\iss, and 
now residing in New York City; Walter A., 
the present head of the Moline Wagon Com- 
pany, and the sketch of whose life appears 
elsewhere in this book, and Charles. Mr- 
Rosenfield was a man devoted to his home, his 
wife and his children, and his family circle 
was indeed a happy one. When in the 
clutches of the disease that finally caused his 
death his family bent every thought and 
every effort toward giving him the most ten- 
der and ministering care. 

In politics Mr. Rosenfield was a staunch 
and loyal Republican, and occupied a prom- 
inent place in the councils of his party. He 
served as delegate and as alternate to several 
National Conventions of the Republican 
party, and freely gave his labor, his influence 
and his money to promote the success of the 
party of his choice. 

Mr. Rosenfield was a man of high character 
and of broad and comprehensive view. He 
w^as thoroughly cosmopolitan in his tastes 
and ideas. Of a kindly and genial disposi- 
tion he was always ready to help those less 
fortunate than himself, and to help them in 
such a way that they would be enabled there- 



by to help themselves.* He had very many 
warm, personal friends, and by his death 
Rock Island lost one of her best and most 
progressive citizens. A man of kindly 
thought and generoiis deed he is remembered 
by those who knew him with sentiments of 
most sincere regard. 



WALTER A. ROSENFIELD. 

WALTER A. ROSENFIELD, the eldest 
son of Morris and Julia E. Rosenfield, 
was born in Rock Island, June 13, 
1.S77. The sketch of his father and of the 
history of the Rosenfield family precedes this. 

After completing the Rock Island public 
schools, Mr. Rosenfield entered St. John's 
Military School at Manlius, New York, and 
graduated from that school. 

In 1.S9S the lingering and hopeless illness 
of his father, Morris Rosenfield, having made 
it impossible for him to longer assume the 
duties devolving upon the president of an 
industry like the Moline Wagon Company, 
his son, our subject, was elected to that 
office, which position he still holds. Called 
to assume the guiding power of a great and 
growing industry when he had barely attained 
his majority, and at an age when most young 
men of hi.s station are still pursuing their 
collegiate course, Mr. Rosenfield has displayed 
splendid ability in handling the large affairs 
that constantly demanded his attention. 
L'nder his management the plant has been 
enlarged and the output increased. Several 
new buildings have been added until the 
capacity of the factory is almost doubled. 

Like his father, Walter A. Rosenfield, is a 
Republican, and although never seeking any 
political office for himself he takes an active 
interest in the trend of ]5olitical affiairs. 
He makes his home at the family residence 
at the head of Eighteenth Street in Rock 
Island, a handsome brick and sandstone 




^ 



^^^^ 



// / N T >l h' I (' HOC K I S L A \ l> cor .V T Y 



15 



edifice, and the h;Hi(isoiiio'<t hoiiu' in the eity. 
Mr. Rosenfieid is a yoiui^ man to whom 
Large opportunities have i)ecii t^ixcn lo dem- 
onstrate what manner of man he is, and he 
has proved himself to l)e thoroughly ea])al)le. 
He has managed the affairs of the large indus- 
try, of which he is at the head, wisely and 
well. 



MAX DANIEL ROSENFIELD. 

M.\X I), R()SK\F11';LI) is a familiar 
name in business circles throughout 
Rock Island, Moline and Davenport as 
well. He was born in iMuhringen. \\urttem- 
berg, Germany, .\pril 4, 1S67, his parents 
being Daniel and Marie Rosenfieid. He at- 
tended the public schools of his native town. 
He came to America at an early age, and 
later located in Cliicago, where he resided 
from 1-883 to lUDl, when he removed to Mo- 
line. 

A branch of the Chicago Brewing Company 
had been established in Rock Island in 1894. 
Sam Pells being the first manager. In 1SS9 
this Brewing Company became a part of the 
great United Breweries Company of Chicago, 
and on February 13, 1901, Mr. Rosenfieid 
assumed the management of the Rock Island 
branch, succeeding Mr. Pells. This position 
Mr. Rosenfieid still holds, and during his 
management he has greatly increased the 
patronage of the Rock Island branch until it 
has reached a stage where there is now talk 
of putting up a fully eqiupjied brewing plant 
in Rock Island as another link in the chain 
of breweries which this company controls. 

October 4, 1893, Mr. Rosenfieid was joined 
in marriage to Miss Rebecca Hirsch, the 
daughter of Simon Hirsch, one of Rock Island 
County's early settlers. After a number of 
years of happy married life Mrs. Rosenfieid 
died, Mr. Rosenfieid later married her sister. 
Miss Tillie Hirsch. 



l\Ir. Rosenfield's political affiliation is with 
the RejHiblicaii Parly. He is a Thirty-second 
Degree Mason, Past Chancellor of the Knights 
of Pythias and is a charter member of the 
Moline I^odge of Klks. 

In religion he is an adherent of the .Jewish 
faith, and is a trustee of Tenqjle Emanuel, 
the house of worship of the Jewish congrega- 
tion (Reformed) at Davenport, Iowa. 

He is a man of great executive ability as 
has been demonstrated by his able manage- 
ment of the l)ranrh of which he has control. 
In his business dealings he is upright and 
conscientious, and in his social relations 
pleasant and affable, easily making and 
kee]iing friends. 

i^- iS 'H 

EDWARD HOLMES GUYER. 

ONE of the comparatively few whose 
genius for large undertaking and achiev- 
ment determines the destinies of the 
localities in which they live, is the subject of 
this sketch — Edward Holmes Guyer. of Rock 
Island. He is a native of the city, having 
been born there October 30, 1853. 

His parents were Judge Samuel S. Guyer 
and Annette Holmes, daughter of the late 
George E. Holmes, of Port Byron. Judge 
Guyer was a pioneer of Rock Island County, 
of which he was county judge for a period of 
eight years, serving the cotmty as sheriff for 
like period. He was one of the original pro- 
jirietors of the Town of C^oal Valley, and was 
an incorporator of the Coal Valley Mining 
Company, also of the Rock Island and Peoria 
Railroad Company and of Chippiannock 
Cemetery. 

Edward Holmes Guyer received his educa- 
tion in the Rock Island Grade and High 
Schools. He graduated from the Michigan 
University, receiving therefrom the Degrees 
of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. 



16 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



He also studied for two 3'cars at Heidelberg, 
Germany. 

Mr. Guyer entered upnn hi.s active busines.s 
career in the City of Rock Lsland in the year 
1879 when he opened his office and entered 
into the practice of law, which he has followed 
ever since. He was secretary and attorney 
for the Rock Island and Milan Street Railway 
Company and of the Moline Central Street 
Railway Company, the first road in Illinois 
to be equipped with modern electric motors. 

Mr. Guyer has been attorney and manager 
of the Rock Lsland Mutual Building Loan 
and Savings Association since its organiza- 
tion twenty-six years ago; has been director 
of the Chippiannock Cemetery Association 
since 1882, and its president for more than 
twenty years. 

His interests in real estate have been very 
extensive. He platted in Rock Island, Guy- 
er Sub-division, Guyer's First, Second and 
Third Additions, Edgewood Park, L'irst and 
Second Additions to Edgewood Park, College 
Heights and Buford and Guyer Additions. 
In Moline he platted Prospect Park and First 
and Second Fairmount Additions. In the 
year 1S95 platted the Town of East Moline 
on a tract of twelve himdred acres. 

Mr. Guyer's pul)lic services to the Cities 
of Rock Island and Moline have been great. 
He originated and carried to a successful 
conclusion the project of locating the Water- 
town Hospital for the Insane at Water- 
town, and the location of the small arms' 
])lant at Rock Island Arsenal in which enter- 
prise he spent six weeks at Washington to 
secure an appropriation from Congress. 
He was one of a delegation of three to the 
Head Camp of the Modern Woodmen of 
America held at Omaha, securing the remov- 
al of the head offices from Fulton to Rock 
Island. 

Mr. Guyer has been twice elected a director 
of the Rock Island Club, and was its presi- 
dent in 1905. He represented the Seventh 
Ward of his city in the years 1892 and 1893. 



He is a Republican, but of the independent 
order. His marriage to Miss Constance Kim- 
ball, of Paris, Maine, was celebrated in the 
year 1886. Of this union the children are 
Alice F. Guyer and Edward F. Guj'er. 



PETER FRIES. 

AM.\N whose personality was strongly 
impressed on Rock Island County, was 
Peter Fries, distiller, banker, and man 
of affaii's. Mr. Fries was born May 4, 1822, 
on the family estate known as "Guss-Hof," 
situated on the River Main, in Bavaria, Ger- 
many. He died July 20, 1902, in Rock Is- 
land, Illinois. His father's name was Johann, 
his mother's, Gertrude (nee Brand), of Reis- 
tenhausen. 

.lohann Fries was the owner of the Guss- 
Hof, the estate which had descended from 
father to son for many generations, and was 
situated near Stadt Prozelten. 

Peter Fries, the subject of this sketch, was 
the youngest of eight children. After re- 
ceiving his education, he assisted his father 
in the affairs of the estate, until he reached 
the age of manhood, when he sold his inheri- 
tance to his oldest sister. 

The burden had been heavy, and being 
informed of the rare opportunities for thrift 
and energy in America, he came in the year 
1849 to the Ignited States, and located in 
Altoona, Pennsylvania. Here he engaged 
in the tannery business, but his investment 
proved unfortunate, and he continued but 
for one year, when he removed to Henry, 
Illinois, where he once more embarked in 
the leather business. After two years spent 
in Henry, he sold his establishment and re- 
moved to Davenport, Iowa, where he engaged 
in the manufacture of vinegar, which he 
continued until the year 1854. At this time 
he came to Rock Island and entered upon 
the business of distilling and rectifying 




E. H. GUYER 




"Puz % 



'L^.^^:i^ 



// / N T <) in (' ROCK I S L A N D (' U N T Y 



17 



liquors, and cnntiiiuod thoroin until the end 
of his life. 

\ow fortune sniiieil on .Mr. I'ries. and as 
he prospered he beeame widely interested 
in real estate. He was a charter member of 
the Rock Islanil National I^ank, and of the 
People's National Bank. He was a director 
in both banks, and was vice-president of the 
latter uj) to the time of his death. 

In politics Mr. Fries was a Democrat, 
always reserving the right to vote for men 
or measures according to the dictates of his 
own judgment. 

In religion Mr. Fries was a Catholic. Mr. 
Fries married Theresa Dauber August 5. 
IS.'i'i. in the City of Henry, Illinois. Of this 
union, two children were born: Anna, who 
married the late Mr. Henry Schmidt, of St. 
Louis, and is now Mrs. James Connor, of Rock 
Island, Illinois. The other child, a son, died 
in infancy. 

Mr. Fries died a successful man, the result 
of great energy, thrift and business ability. 
He was a man of great force of character, 
and in disposition modest and unassuming. 
His large and varied luisiness connections 
made him an important factor of the Ijusiness 
life of the city, to wliich his death was a, great 
loss. 



m 



ISAAC NEGUS. 

ISAAC NEGUS, deceased, who, during his 
lifetime, was one of the leading business 

men in Rock Island, was a man whose be- 
lief in the future of the city he had chosen for 
his home took the substantial form of build- 
ing enterprise. 

He was born December 31, 1799, at La- 
bions, Ondaga County, New York, where he 
received a common school education. After 
leaving school he found employment in the 
construction department of the Erie Canal 
in New York State, where he remained for 



three years. The experience and practical 
knowledge gained during those three years 
was a great service to him later, when he, 
with his partner. Mr. James Sanger, took a 
S15(),0()0 contract for a ])art of the construc- 
tion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, the 
scene of their operations being Chicago. 

Mr. Negus removed from New York State 
in 1829, locating in lulwardsville, Madison 
County, Illinois, where for three years he was 
engaged in the mercantile business. From 
thence he move(l to Chicago and later went 
to Galena, Illinois, where he was again en- 
gaged in mercantile lines until he came to 
Rock Island on October S, 1S44. Here he 
again took up mercantile life and made an 
enviable record in his business career. 

He was also a member of the banking firm 
of Osborn, Negus tV: Comiiany known as the 
Rock Island Hank, the firm at that time op- 
erating the ]irincipal bank in the city. He 
was also one of the owners of the first street 
car system between the cities of Rock Island 
and Moline. In those early days electricity 
had not snpplant(Ml the horse as a means of 
motive i^ower, and indeed, a hack line which 
Mr. Negus started and operated between the 
Twin-Cities was a inu'leus from which the 
first horse car svstem grew. Mr. Negus was 
also one of the stock holders in the Rock 
Island Watch Company, and held a large 
interest in the Rock Island Stove Company. 
In 1S76 Mr. Negus built the Rock Island 
Hotel which is still one of the city's leading 
hotels, and this building stands as a monu- 
ment to the man who believed in the future 
of his city and who toc)k pride in her welfare. 
He stood always ready to co-operate in every 
possible way with any movement that 
looked toward the Ijest interests of Rock 
Island. He invested largely in city property 
and at the time of his death he had very ex- 
tensive holdings. He was a man of a benev- 
olent and charitable nature and was always 
ready to extend a helping hand to a needy 
fellow being. 



18 



HISTORIC RO C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



Mr. Negus was a self-made man. A strong 
and vigorovis character, he determined to 
achieve success and through his own unaided 
exertions he attained his goal. 

On November 28, 1839, he married Miss 
Jusiva Waldo, a native of Mansfield, Connec- 
ticut, the scene of their marriage being Sec- 
tion 3, Number 4, Summit Division of the 
Illinois and Michigan Canal. Four children 
were born of this union, they being Charles 
W., who died September 29, 1900; Anna S., 
wife of the late W. S. Knowlton, (Mrs. 
, Knowlton's death occurred March 25, 1901); 
Henry, who died in infancy, and William O.. 
of Rock Island. 

Although Mr. Negus had no church affilia- 
tion, yet he was a liberal supporter of the 
Presbyterian Church, of which his wife, 
whose death occurred September 1, 1873, 
in Rock Island, was a devout and consistent 
member. 

In politics Mr. Negus was a Democrat, and 
although personally he never cared to hold 
office, he took a great interest in political 
affairs. Yielding to the solicitations of his 
party in Rock Island he was once prevailed 
upon to become a candidate for mayor of his 
city, which was at that time overwhelmingly 
Republican. He was defeated by a small 
majority, his personality and well known 
interest in municipal affairs drawing to him 
many votes from the opposition. At one 
time he was president of the Old Settlers' 
Association of Rock Island County. 

On November 27, 1883, Mr. Negus passed 
away at his home in Rock Island, his death 
bringing to a close a long and successful life. 
In his old age he retired from active partici- 
pation in business affairs, but he never 
ceased to take the same keen and zealous in- 
terest in his home city, and in the success of 
the enterprises which he had helped in so 
large a measure to create. He was a man of 
whom it can be said that his convictions took 
form in acts, and who, in his prosperity, 
helped those less fortunate than himself. 



H 



HENRY A. AINSWORTH. 

ENRY A. AINSWORTH, president of 
the Moline Trust and Savings fiank, 
and president of the Williams it White 
Company, manufacturers of steam hammers 
and other special tools, is classed among the 
truly representative citizens of Moline, and 
dates his residence there since 1870. He is 
a native of, Vermont, born in Williamstown, 
September 28, 1833. His father, Calvin 
Ainsworth, was also a native of Vermont, 
born in Brookfield. but in early life moved to 
Williamstown, where for fifty years he was a 
general merchant, well and favorably known 
in all that section of the country. He mar- 
ried Miss Laura Lj'nde, a native of Vermont, 
whose father, Cornelius Lynde, was the first 
circuit judge of Orange County, that state. 
The Ainsworth family was of English descent, 
the first of the name coming to New England 
in the Seventeenth Century and locating in 
Chelsea, Massachusetts. The Lyndes are 
also of English descent, having settled in this 
country prior to the Revolutionary War, 
several of the name taking part in that strug- 
gle. 

The subject of this sketch grew to man- 
hood in his native village, and in the district 
schools received his primary education which 
was supplemented by attendance in two 
academies. In 1853, at the age of twenty 
years, he left home and came west, locating 
in Geneseo, Henry County, Illinois, where he 
engaged in general merchandising on his own 
account. In this line he continued eight 
years, then sold out, and for a few years was 
engaged in the hardware and agricultural 
implement trade in the same place. In both 
lines he met with good success. 

In 1870 Mr. Ainsworth came to Moline and 
secured an interest in the manufactory of 
Williams & White. Within a year later the 
business was incorporated, and Mr. Ains- 
worth was elected secretary of the company, 
a position he held for about fifteen years, 




HENRY A. AINSWURTH 



// / N 7' R I (' h' () (' K I S L A N I) C () U N T Y 



19 



when purchasing about three-fourths of its 
ca])ital stock, he was elected president, a 
position he still retains. Under his general 
management the business has attained mam- 
moth proportions, and is one of the leading 
industries of Moline. Soon after coming to 
Moline he took stock in the .Moline National 
Bank, and also in the Moline Savings Hank, 
and for some years served as director and 
vice ])resident of both institutions. His 
ability as a financier and good executive 
ability were recognized by his associates, 
and in 1S94 he was elected president of the 
former institution, a position he is well quali- 
fied to fill. On his election as president of 
the Moline National Bank, he resigned the 
vice-presidency of the Moline Savings Bank, 
but was retained in its directory. April, 1.S92, 
he resigned as president of the .Moline National 
Bank, when it was changed to Moline Trust 
anfl Sa\'ings Bank. He was elected president 
of that bank in 1894 and still holds that 
position. 

On the 'J.Sth of ,Juiy, 1S.5S, Mr. Ainsworth 
was married at Ashland, Ohio, to Miss Sarah 
Andrews, a native of Ohio, and a sister of 
Mr. Andrews, president then of Kenyon Col- 
lege. After a ha]i]\v married life of thirty- 
three years, Mrs. Ainsworth was called to her 
reward, d\-ing in a hospital at Chicago, leav- 
ing two children, Harry and .Mary. The 
former is a graduate of Obcrlin College, and 
of the law department of Harvard llniversity. 
He is a man of exceptionally good business 
ability, and is now secretary of the Williams 
& White Company. Mary is also a graduate 
of Oberlin College, and is a wf)man of rare 
attainments. At present she is making a 
tour in Europe. Mrs. Ainsworth was a sin- 
cere and honest Christian woman, one who 
delighted in the service of the Master, and 
when the summons came she was ready to go, 
having that perfect confidence and trust in 
the Blessed Redeemer and the life beyond 
the grave. 

For his second wife, Mr. Ainsworth wedded 



Miss Sarah l'\ .Anderson, .June 'M). ]S9(). She 
was born in liucyrus, Ohio; moved to (iene- 
seo, Illinois, in early life, and was a graduate 
of Rockford Female College. A teacher of 
recognized ability, a woman of grace and 
refinement, and of good executive ability, 
she was called to the ]3residency of her alma 
mater, and for six years occui)ied that posi- 
tion. She was still serving as such when her 
marriage with Mr. Ainsworth occiu'red. In 
February, 1896, Beloit College conf(MTed on 
her the degree of M. A., a degree worthily 
bestowed. 

Mr. Ainsworth has always taken a com- 
mendable interest in pulilic affairs, though 
never to the neglect of his business interests. 
He lielieves it the duty of every American 
citizen (o keep posted and act intelligently 
upon all (|uestions affecting the jn'ople, and 
in [lursuanee of that idea he carefully reads 
the current literature of the day, and attends 
the public s])eaking as his time will admit. 

The conventions of his parly he also at- 
tends, more frequently as a delegate than 
otherwise. Politically he is a strong Repub- 
lican. Attaining his majority the year that 
party occurred, he gave adhesion to its prin- 
ciples, and has never deviated therefrom. 

While a resident of Geneseo, Mr. Ainsworth 
was elected a member of the board of village 
trustees, and was the youngest member of 
that body. P^or six years he was a member 
of the state board of equalization, and was 
state senator from the Moline District from 
1882 to 1886. He was later appointed by 
Governor Fifer president of the state board 
of labor statistics, which office he resigned 
when Altgeld was elected governor. In 
every position filled he discharged its duties 
faithfully and well, and to the satisfaction 
of all interested. 

Religiously, Mr. Ainsworth and family are 
members of the First Congregational Church, 
of Moline, and in the work of the church he 
has always manifested an interest, being 
among its most liberal contributors. Fra- 



20 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



ternally, he is a Royal Arch Mason, a member 18S9. In this connection it is interesting to 

of both the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Mo- state that Mrs. Ainsworth's grandfather, on 

line. In the former body he is now past the maternal side, James T. Gifford, laid out 

master. As a citizen he has ever taken a the City of Elgin. 

lively interest in every enterprise calculated The children of this union are Caroline D., 

to build up his adopted city and county, and Sarah A., and Dorothy S. 
few men have a wider circle of friends and 
acfiuaintances throughout the state. 



HARRY AINSWORTH. 

AMONG the leading nuinufacturers of Mo- 
linc. Illinois, is Mr. Harry Ainsworth, 
vice-president of Williams, White & 
Company, manufacturers of heavy machine 
tools. 

Mr. Ainsworth was born at Genesen, Illi- 
nois, May 9, 1862. He is the son of Henry A. 
Ainsworth (whose biography appears in this 
book) and Sarah A., his wife. He was edu- 
cated in Oberlin College (class of 1884) and 
Harvard Law School (class of 1887). 

Although admitted to the bar of the State 
of Illinois, Mr. Ainsworth never practiced, 
but instead cntei'ed the office of Williams, 
White & Company with his father, where he 
has continued ever since as secretary, treas- 
urer and vice president. 

Mr. Ainsworth has served as secretary of 
the Tri-City Manufacturers' Association for 
a number of years; also as member of the 
public library lioard, of which he is now 
president. 

He is a member of the First Congregational 
Church of Moline, in which he has served in 
various offices, being now and for years past, 
superintendent of the Sunday School. 

In politics Jlr. Ainsworth is a Repulilican, 
though independent, when his judgment 
prompts him to assert such independence. 

Mr. Ainsworth was married to Stella A. 
Davidson, the daughter of Mr. Orlando Da- 
vidson, banker, of Elgin, Illinois, in the year 



BEN C. HARTZ. 

ONE OF the most extensive busine.ss en- 
terprises conducted in the City of Rock 
Island is the wholesale drug house of 
Hartz iV: Bahnsen Coin[)any. It is a business 
that, although modest in its inception, has 
attained immense proportions, until today 
it occupies a magnificent four-story building 
on Third Avenue and Nineteenth Street, 
and for its successful operation requires the 
employment of a small army of clerks. It is 
one of the founders of this large concern and 
its president, whose life we propose to take 
u]) in this sketch, and as a specific example 
of what integrity, perseverance and industry 
can accomplish, it will certainly be of inter- 
est to every reader. 

Ben C. Hartz was born December 5, 1856, 
in the town of Altona, Germany, his parents 
being J. H. and Theresa Hartz. The father 
was a contractor and manufacturer of furni- 
ture. He died in his native land of Ger- 
many in 1871. After his death the mother 
made her home with her children in Rock 
Island, passing away September, 1888. 

Their son came in the United States in 
1873 and located in Rock Island. Previous 
to leaving Germany, he had served an ap- 
prenticeship of three years in a wholesale 
and retail drug and paint business in Ham- 
burg. Having thus fitted himself as a prac- 
tical pharmacist he found no difficulty in ob- 
taining employment in his chosen line upon 
coming to Rock Island, and after having 
served for six years in that capacity as an 




MRS. THOMAS CAMPBELL 




THOMAS CAMPBELL 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND ('()[' X T Y 



employee of others, in 1879 he entered into 
partnership with F. W. Bahnsen in the retail 
drug business under tlie firm name of Hartz 
& Bahnsen. Their \cnture was a successful 
and prosperous one. and in 1S91 they dis- 
posed of their retail dru"; business and inrur- 
porated as Hartz iV Bahnsen Company, and 
from that date to tlic present time they have 
lieen actively enti'afied in the wholesale druii 
l)usiness exclusively. I'lion the formation 
of the new cori)oration, Mr. Hartz was elected 
its president, an ollice that he has ever since 
held, devoting his time exclusively to the 
duties and res]ionsil)ilities which necess,arily 
devoh'ed u])(in him. 

In religious con\'iction Mr. Hartz is a 
Lutheran, and was confinued in the Lutheran 
Evangelical Church. In politics he is a 
Republican. For twenty-seven years he has 
been a member of Ucal Lodge, No. 608. of 
Odd Fellows. He is also a tlirector of the 
Rock Island Club. He is a progressive and 
respected citizen of Rock Island, and tlu' 
business that he and his early partner, Mr. 
Bahnsen, have built up and carry on, stands 
as a monument to the business sagacity of 
both those gentlemen. 



THOMAS CAMPBELL. 

THOMAy CAMPBELL, one of the best 
known citizens of Rock Islantl County 
was born January 9, 1842, in Ballyhas- 
kin Parrish, County Down, Ireland. His 
parents were John and Margaret (McQiuiid) 
Campbell, and of their union four children 
were born: Mary (now Mrs. Rutlierford), 
Margaret (deceased), Robert and Thomas, 
the subject of this sketch. 

The Campbells were originally imm Scot- 
land. About two centuries past the fore- 
bears of Thomas Campbell removed from 
Scotland and settled in the North of Ireland. 



February 11, 1850, when Thomas Camp- 
bell was eight years of age, his jjarents, with 
their children, left Irel.-iml for America, em- 
barking on tlie Elizabeth Augusta, a sailing 
vessel boimd for New Orh^ans. The joiu-ney 
cdusunied seven weeks and three (hu's. Up- 
on arriving at New Orleans the family, ha\-- 
ing determined to come to Rock Island, timk 
boat ami pi-oceeded up the Mississi|)pi. but 
at St. Louis the illness and death of the 
mother com])elled a temjiorary cessation of 
journey. Mrs. Cani]ib('ll was burietl at St. 
Louis and the rest of the sorrowing familv 
continuecl uj)on their way to Rock Lsland, 
which they reached .May .'5, 18,'i(). 

On the first of .May the following year, 
Thonuis Campbell was taken into the home 
of ,yohn A. Boyer ami wife. He atteudeil the 
couimon schools of Rock Island, going three 
or four months in the winter, and s|_iending 
the other months in farm work. He made 
his home with the Boyers until the death of 
that cou])le. Having no children of their 
own, they had made Thomas Campbell their 
heir, and they left to him considerable pro- 
perty, consisting chiefly of real estate. He 
continued to live in the old Boyer homestead 
until 1901, when he built a new house about 
two hundred feet south of the old one and 
moved into it. This is the only time that 
Mr. Campbell has moved siiu'e he came to 
Rock Island in his boyhood. 

On August 9, 18t}2, Mr. Campbell enlisted 
as a private in Company I, One Hundred 
and Twenty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. 
Seven companies were mustered in Rock 
Island County. All of them went to Dixon, 
Illinois, where tliey remained in cam]) three 
weeks. Then they were ordered to Chicago. 
While there one of the comjjanies, (Capt. 
Williams') went into the Eighty-ninth Illinois, 
and another (Capt. Ashbaugh's) joined the 
Ninety-thii-d Illinois. This left five comjjanies 
from Rock Island County, and these, together 
with five companies from the southern part of 
state, foriued the One Hundred and Twentv- 



22 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Wliile they 
were in camp at Chicago, Harper's Ferry had 
been taken. Some of the Union soldiers who 
were captured at that Confederate victory were 
paroled and sent to Chicago to Camp Doug- 
las. One of them upon going to a sutler's 
tent to purchase tabacco was informed by 
the sutler's clerk that he "would not sell to- 
bacco to a d coward." This insult 

spread through the camp like wildfire and 
everything in the tent was destroyed by the 
enraged soldiers, so keen was their resent- 
ment of the insult offered their comrade. 
The other sutlers' tents were guarded, or the 
same treatment would have been meted out 
to them. During this melee, through the 
accidental discharge of a soldier's musket, 
Mr. Campliell was wounded, the ball passing 
through his left knee joint and crijipling him 
for life, from the effect of which in 1900 he 
had to have his limb amputated four inches 
above the knee-joint. 

Mr. Campbell was nuxrried Se))tomber 7, 
1864, to Mary J. Carson. Seven children 
were liorn to them, all of them living but one, 
who was killed in a railroad accident Febru- 
ary 19, 1904. 

Mr. Campbell has devoted his life to farm- 
ing, his farm being located just outside the 
city limits of Rock Island, and being known 
to this day as "the old Boyer place." For 
twenty-five years he has been crop corres- 
pondent for Rock Island County. 

In politics Mr. Campbell is a Republican 
and has l:)een frequently honored by his par- 
ty, having held the offices of school director, 
road commissioner, supervisor, county treas- 
urer in 1890, and on November 6, 1906, 
he was elected as a representative to the 
Illinois Legislature from the Thirty-third 
Senatorial District, which is composed of 
Rock Island, Mercer and Henderson Coun- 
ties. His first presidential vote was cast for 
Abraham Lincoln on his second term, 1864. 
Mr. Campbell is a member of John Buford 
Post, G. A. R. For about twenty years he 



was elected quartermaster, then commander, 
and at the present time he is chaplain. He 
is also a member of the Old Settlers' Associa- 
tion. 

He is affiliated with the First Baptist 
Church in Rock Island, and has been promi- 
nent in church work. For twelve years he 
has been a trustee and for ten years a deacon 
of his church. 



o 



MANSFIELD M. STURGEON. 

NVj of the most brilliant and astute 
attorneys jiraetising at the Rock Island 
('ounty Bar is Mansfield M. Sturgeon, 
senior meml)er of the legal firm of Sturgeon, 
Stclck & Sturgeon, a man whose great ability 
and profound learning as an attorney has been 
demonstrated in the trial of many important 
suits, as well as in sound covmsel and legal 
advice. 

He was born September 10, 1843, at Letart 
Falls, Ohio, his parents, being Oliver Hazard 
Perry Sturgeon and Mary Ellenor (Summers) 
Sturgeon. The father was born March 14, 
1818, at Sistersville. Virginia, the date of the 
marriage of the senior Mr. and Mrs. Sturgeon 
Ijeing December 25, 1839. The death of the 
father occurred at Windom, Kansas, in 1902, 
he being then in his eighty-fifth year. The 
mother was born in Morgantown, Virginia, 
June 11, 1819. She is still living, and is in her 
eighty-eighth year. 

The grandfather of our subject. William 
Sturgeon, was a soldier in the war of 1812, 
and was with the land forces at Lake Erie 
when Commodore Perry won the memorable 
naval battle there. Hence when his son was 
born he bestowed upon him the somewhat 
lengthy name of Oliver Hazard Perry Stur- 
geon, in honor of his hero. This rather 
cumbrous cognomen was abbreviated by his 
boyhood companions to simply "Perry", and 




M. M. STUKGEON 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



23 



by this namo ho was known throughout his 
life. 

The Sturgeons were of Scotch-Irish ances- 
try, one of the members of tliat family set- 
tling in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in an early 
day. The great-grandfather of our sul)ject 
was born in Uniontown. When a young 
man he erected a grist mill on the hanks of 
Union Creek, and was engaged in the milling 
and general merchandise business for many 
years. 

After the war of 1,S12 William Stiu'geon 
was commissioned colonel of militia by the 
then Governor of Virginia. Under the old 
militia laws of that state, annual drills or 
musters were held, which all the able-boilied 
men subject to military duly wtM'e required 
to attend, ("olonrl Stm'geoii held these mus- 
ters either at Morgantown or else at Wheeling, 
at that time included in old Virginia, but now 
one of the |)rinci|i:il cities in West Virginia. 
Colonel Sturgeon died at Cinciniuiti, ( )hio, 
in 1855. 

The family of our subj(H't's mother was 
noted for longevity. His great-graiulmother 
lived to be one hundred years old, and his 
great-great-granilmother was one hundred 
and one years of age at the time of her death. 

In 1849, when Mansfield M. Sturgeon was 
six years of age, his parents removed from 
their Ohio home to St. .loseph. Missouri, and 
afterward to Rock Island, arriving in the lat- 
ter city in 1851. This city has been Mr. 
Sturgeon's home ever since, with the e.xcep- 
tion of a few years just prior to, and during 
the first years of the Civil War, when his 
parents lived upon a farm in liuffalo Prairie 
Township in this county. He attended the 
public schools of Rock Island, and while his 
parents were upon the farm he attended the 
country schools of the lower end of the county 
and also a private t^cademy at Edgington. 
After the close of the war he took a one year's 
course in the Rock River Seminary at Mount 
Morris, Illinois. 

In June, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, 



Sixty-ninth Regiment of Illinois \'olunteer 
Infantry to serve for three months. The regi- 
ment was assigned to duty at Camp Douglas, 
Chicago, guarding rebel prisoners, of which 
there were about eight thousand detained at 
that camp. The tinu' of Mr. Sturgeon's 
enlistment expired the following September, 
and upon its expiration he, together with 
others whose enlistments had expired, vol- 
luiteered, before being mustered out of service, 
to guard rebel prisoners from Camp Douglas 
to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where they were to 
be exchanged. This expedition from Camp 
Douglas to Vicksburg took in all about six 
weeks. 

In the early winter of 1863-1864 Mr. Stur- 
geon again enlisted, this time in Comjiany H, 
Forty-fifth l^egimeut of Illin<iis Volunteer 
Infantry, through Sergeant Wallace, who 
was then in iMlgington upon recruiting ser- 
vice. After signing the enlistmeiit roll Mr. 
Stm'geon heartl nothing further in regard to 
the matter until the spring of 1864, when he 
received orders to report at Camp Yates, 
Springfield, Illinois. Upon reporting at Camp 
Yates he was assigned to the extremely un- 
pleasant task of drilling raw recruits, wliich 
proved so exceedingly irksome and imcongen- 
ial that he longed to get away. Racking his 
brain in an endeavor t(i j^lan some way to 
obtain relief from the distasteful duty with 
the awkward squad, he one day chanced to 
meet Colonel K. M. Heardsley of the One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Volunteer In- 
fantry. Colonel Beardslcy had formerly been 
first lieutenant of C(nnpany F of the Sixty- 
ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the com- 
pany and regiment to which Mr. Sturgeon was 
attached upon his first enlistment, and the 
two men were also old friends. Mr. Sturgeon 
told the colonel how anxious he was to leave 
Springfield. Colonel Beardsley proposed that 
Mr. Sturgeon accompany him, as he (Beards- 
ley) was about to leave Springfield to join 
his regiment which was then located at De 
Vails Bluff, Arkansas. This invitation w-as 



24 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



eagerly accepted by the young man, and they 
then set abovit arranging for the transfer of 
Mr. Sturgeon to Colonel Beardsley's regiment. 
That same afternoon Mr. Sturgeon received 
orders to report to the adjutant general of 
the state. Arriving at his office he found 
Colonel Beardsley already there. Here Mr. 
Sturgeon's enlistment papers were changed 
from Company H, Forty-fifth Illinois Vol- 
unteer Infantry to Comjjany B, One Hundred 
and T,wenty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. 
This concluded the necessary formalities, and 
Mr. Sturgeon accompanied Colonel Beardsley 
to l)e Vails Bluff, Arkansas. On the twenty- 
third of June, 1864, Mr. Sturgeon was in the 
engagement at Clarendon, Arkansas. Short- 
ly afterward he was detailed for special duty 
in the provost marshal's office at De Vails 
Blulf, where he served as clerk until Septem- 
ber of that same year. Then he was ordered 
to r('p<;irt to the provost marshal general of 
the Department of Arkansas, at Little Rock. 
He was assigned to duty in this office, and 
remained there luitil the close of the war. 

After the close of the war, Mr. Sturgeon 
again resumed his residence in Rock Island 
County and has never changed it since. From 
1S6G to March. 1S69, he taught school in the 
tcnvn of Milan. In the latter month and year 
he was appointed county superintendent of 
schools, to fill out the vmexpired term of the 
Hon. Wm. H. Gest. who had resigned. Mr. 
Sturgeon stuihed law with the legal firm of 
fJest it Hawley and was admitted to the liar 
of Illinois in June, 1872. The fourth of July 
of that year he celebrated by opening a law 
office of his own and hanging out his sign 
"Mansfield M. Sturgeon, Lawyer." 

On June 2.3, 1870, occurred the marriage of 
Mansfield M. Sturgeon and Miss Jennie ]i. 
Mattison, a young lady of Mount Morris, 
Illinois. To them four children were born; 
Grace M., the wife of J. S. Freeman, who re- 
sides in Moline; Mansfield, who died at the 
age of three and a half years; Rollin S., a 
graduate of Northwestern Ihiiversitv and of 



Harvard Law School, and who is now a mem- 
ber of the law firm of Sturgeon, Stelck & 
Sturgeon; and Miss Jennie B. Sturgeon, who 
is also a graduate of Northwestern University 
and who is now principal of the English De- 
partment of the Monmouth High School. 

In politics Mr. Sturgeon has always been a 
staunch Republican, and he is recognized as 
one of the leaders of his party in Rock Island 
County. He has several times been honored 
by his party, the first time by the appoint- 
ment as county superintendent of schools 
and afterwards by election to that office three 
successive terms; then by his election to the 
office of state's attorney for Rock Island 
County in 1888 to fill the unexpired term of 
Patrick O'Mara, who died a short time after 
being elected to office. Mr. Sturgeon served 
as state's attorney until 1892. He was a 
vigorous and efficient prosecutor and conduc- 
ted the affairs of the office in a competent and 
lawyer-like manner. In 1892 he was elected 
a member of the state board of ecpiiliza- 
tion for the Eleventh Congressional District 
of lUinfiis, and served luitil December 1, 
1896. 

As a lawyer Mansfield M. Sturgeon is be- 
yond question the peer of any attorney prac- 
ticing at the Rock Island County Bar. Al- 
though a brilliant man and a talented lawyer 
he is modest and unassuming, and without 
the slightest trace of ostentation in his man- 
ner. He has a large number of friends 
throughout Rock Island County, and is 
counted one of the good, substantial citizens 
in the community in which he resides. 



STEPHEN HENRY VELIE. 

THE City of Moline owes its prominence 
throughout the United States, and in 
fact, throughout the entire civilized 
world, chiefly to its manufactories. And to 
Stephen Henry Velie, deceasecL who, during 



// I Sro RI C ROC K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



•>n 



hi.s life, was conspicuou.sly itlentiiicii with 
several of that city's leading mamifacturins; 
establishments, Molino is greatly indebted 
for the ])reeininence sli(> now maintains in 
industrial enterprise. 

Mr. ^'(•iie was Ixirn April 21, 1SI5(), near 
Hyde P;irk, l)utchess County, Xew York, 
his boyhood, until he arrived at the age of 
fifteen vears, being spent upon his father's 
farm in that county. During this pcu-iod he 
attended the public schools of that locality. 
In 1845 he went to New York City, wiuu'e iu- 
made his honu^ with his grandfather, Stephen 
Herrick, who was engaged in tiie commission 
business. While witii his grandfather. Mr. 
^'elie obtained valualile l.)usiuess training and 
e\]ierience which was of great ailvantage to 
him in later life, .\fter renuiining for some 
time in the home of his gramlfather, .Mr. 
^'elie went to Poughkeepsie in the same state, 
and in lS47 came west, locating in St. Louis, 
Missouri. Here he was employed in the 
wholesale grocery house of Edward ,1. (la\- iV; 
Company. .Mr. (lay, the head of the firm, 
nuide his home in Louisiana, and was after- 
wards elected to congress from his district 
in that state. At this time Mr. Yelie lived 
with him at his Louisiana home and man- 
aged his large plantation for a period of two 
years during his emjjloyer's term in congress. 
He again returned to St. I^ouis where he re- 
mained until 1854 when he came to Rock 
Island. For ti\'e years after removing to this 
city h(> had charge of the C. C. Webber i^- 
Company's foimdr)', at the exjui'ation of 
wliich time he went to Princeton, Illinois 
where he was for two years engaged in the 
mercantile business. 

In 1863 Mr. Velie retm-ned to this locality 
and entered into partnership with .John 
Deere, the pioneer plow manufacturer of the 
west. In 1868, when the concern was incor- 
porated, Mr. Velie was elected to t lie (offices of 
secretary and treasurer and held that position 
until the time of his death, which occurred 
Februarv 14, 1895. 



In addition to the res])onsil)ilities and 
iluties devolving upon him in conse(pience of 
his connection with Deere iV Com|iany. Mr. 
\'elie was largely interested in numerous otlu'r 
financial and manuf.-icturing enlerprises. 
The.se interests ami holdings he acipiired from 
time to time diu'iug his lifi' in consequence of 
his liusiness judgment and acuiniui in ccuu- 
merciai affairs. Kvery enteriirise with which 
he identified hims(^lf ]>ros|ierecl, ami a^ fhe 
substantial fiaiits of ihrse increased. .Mr. 
X'elie w.as constantly seeking m-w lirlds of 
investment for his large returns, so that at 
the time of his death. Mr. \'elie, in addition 
to possessinsj; lai'iie luuibei- holdings in liie 
south, was interested in the ston<' <piarries at 
Le Claire, ]ow;i, as ])i-esident of the .Moline 
Central Railway Company, the Moline Water 
Power Companv .and the Peoples I'owci- 
Com])auy. 

On .Ma.\- 1(1. ISCI). .Mr. \'eli<' m.arried Mi.ss 
Imuuui C. Deere, daughli'r of .lohn Deere, the 
founder of .Moline's great plow works, and of 
this uiarria^^e five children were born, they 
Ix'ing Charles Deere ^'eli(^ one of the present 
managers of Deere A Company's branch 
house at .Minneapolis. Minnesota; Stephen 
Henry, .Ti-., manager of that firm's branch 
house at Kansas City, Missouri, and also of 
the Velie Harness Company of the same city; 
Willard Lamb, president of the Velie Carriage 
Companv. of Moline; John Deere Velie, who 
died August 14, INTO, anil Crace Deere \'elie, 
the wife of Stuart Harper of Rock Island. 

In politics Mr. Velie was originally a WHiig. 
but later joined the ranks of the newly formetl 
Republican party which had taken a firm and 
decided stand against the inicpiity of the 
ownershi]) of human beings. To this latter 
jiarty he gave his allegiance and support 
throughout his remaining years, always re- 
joicing in its successes and lamenting its 
defeats. He was constantly contributing 
both his personal influence and his means to 
his party's cause, but never sought political 
honcu' for himsi.'lf, the onl\- public office he 



26 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



ever held being that of a director of the Molinc 
Public Library, to which he was chosen when 
that institution was first organized. 

Mr. Velie was a man of religious convic- 
tion and was a consistent member of the 
Congregational Church at Moline, and in 
maintaining and furthering church work, he 
was always a liberal contriljutor. 

He was a Mason, belonging to the Order 
of Knights Templar and was also an Odd 
Fellow, and in his fraternal, as well as in his 
domestic business, ])olitical and other rela- 
tions in life, he set an<l maintained a high 
standard for himself. 

Mr. Velie was a large employer of labor, 
with whom he dealt fairly, e(|uital)ly and 
liberally, and with whom his relations and 
dealings were at all times fraternal and never 
tyrannical. 

He was a splendid type of citizen. He 
possessed a broad and comprehensive under- 
standing of the trend of public events. Al- 
though actively engaged in business, with 
great interests demanding his most careful 
attention, he never became so engrossed in 
matters pertaining to finance or commerce 
that he was difficult of approach. He was 
a man of suave and genial temperament, 
ready to help those less fortunate than him- 
self, and to help them in the way best suited 
to their peculiar need. In his hours of re- 
laxation, he was a most delightful compan- 
ion having the rare power of discovering and 
adapting himself to the environment he 
might be placed in, and so he was held in 
warm regard by all who knew him as a man 
of great congenialit}'. He was devotedly 
attached to his home and family, and in 
return he reaped the reward of their enduring 
devotion. The best biography of Stephen 
Henry Velie is written in the memory of 
those who knew him, and, knowing him, 
found him to be possessed of those qualities 
that are found only in a high standard of 
manhood. 



COLONEL ELHANAN JOHN SEARLE. 

SOLDIER, jurist and publicist, a man of 
many attainments and widely diversified 
talent, was Elhanan J. Searle, the sub- 
ject of this sketch. He was born .January 18, 
1S3.5, at Royalton, Ohio, coming to Rock 
Island County with his parents when about 
two years of age, and died at Rock Island, 
August 18, 1906. Colonel Searle, or Judge 
Searle as he was perhaps more familiarly 
known throughout Rock Island County, re- 
ceived his education at the Rock River Sem- 
inary, an institution located at Mount Morris, 
Illinois, and after completing his studies in 
that school, which was largely preparatory 
in its scope, he entered N(jrthwestern LTni- 
versity at Evanston; from which institution 
he graduated with the highest honors of his 
class; and at the time of his death was the 
oldest alumnus of that institution. After the 
completion of his collegiate course he decided 
to fit himself for entrance to the legal pro- 
fession, and with that end in view he entered 
the law office of John L. Beveridge, afterwards 
Governor of Illinois, at Chicago. He re- 
mained in Mr. Beveridge's office until Nov- 
ember, 1859, when he entered the law office 
of Abraham Lincoln and William H. Hern- 
don, the firm being known as Lincoln & Hern- 
don, at Springfield, and here he remained 
continuing the study of his chosen profession 
until March, 1861. Daily association with a 
character such as Abraham Lincoln's and the 
intimacy naturally arising from their relation 
as student and mentor, must have made a 
deep impression upon the young man, and 
doubtless exerted a formative influence upon 
the whole course of his after life. As we can 
view it now, such an opportunity was a price- 
less one, and even in those days it was a 
most excellent thing for any young man as- 
piring to become a lawyer, to be taken into 
the office of Lincoln & Herndon, for Abra- 
ham Lincoln was then recognized as one of 




CO],(^i\J':L elhanan john searle 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



tlu' leaders of tlie Illinoi.s Har, altliDUgh Lin- 
coln, the lawyer, is now overshadowed by that 
more majestic and sublimely iieaiitifiil char- 
acter as president and martyr. The inti- 
macy thus arisiuir between Abraham l.incohi 
and his student continued until the traiiic 
deatii of the president, considerable corres- 
pontlence i)assing between the two. 

On Septendjer 23, 1861, Eihanan .1. Searle. 
declining preferment tendered him by Presi- 
dent Lincoln, enlisted in Company H, Tenth 
Illinois Cavalry, at Springfield as a private. 
He served in that capacity until .luly 7, 1S62, 
wh(>n he was made capt;iiii of his company. 
His duties carried him into Arkansas as a 
recruiting oflicer. He was instrumental in 
recruiting and sending into the field the I''iist 
Arkansas Infantry, and the Second .-ind 
I'onrth Ark.ansas ('a\'alry, these icsiinients 
being organized largely from the nionnlainous 
districts of the Ozarks. rpmi its organiza- 
tion, he w;is made lieutenant-colonel of the 
I'lrst Arkansas Infantry, and was in command 
of that regiment for the greater ])art of three 
years, the colonel, himself, being absent fr(jm 
his command, and his duties naturally de- 
devolving upon the olhcer next in rank. 
Colonel Searle was a brave and gallant sol- 
dier, and while in command of his regiment, 
he made for himself a most excellent record, 
participating in more than forty engagements 
and skirmishes, and l)eing fairly idolized by 
his men. Although always in tlie thick of the 
fight. Colonel Searle esca])ed injury, although 
in different battles three horses were shot 
from under him. He often acted as i)riga- 
dier-general in command of the brigade of 
which his regiment formed a pari, and was 
placed i-n command of a number of impor- 
tant [josts. For several months he was pro- 
vost-marshal of a military depai'tmcmt, and 
frequently was called upon to act as a mem- 
ber of military commissions and court-mar- 
tials. At the close of the war. Colonel Searle 
was honorably discharged from the service, 
the date of his discharge being August 10, 1SG5. 



Ujion Laying aside the sword, Colonel Searle 
settled at I''ort Smith, Arkansas, and here he 
entered upon the practice* of that profession 
which he had temporarily put aside to take up 
till' sterner duties of war. On February !!», 
iSOfJ, he was commissioned prosecuting at- 
torney for the Ninth .Judicial District of Ar- 
kansas, a district which comjjrised eight 
counties. Some time after this he was ap- 
pointed United States Commissioner for the 
Western District of Arkansas, which included 
not only the westei-n p.art of Arkansas, i)iit 
all of Indian 'i'erritory as well. He served as 
assistant United States District Attorney in 
addition to the duties of the latter ollice uiilil 
,Iaiui;u-\- 1, I.S()7, when he was commissioned 
by the prox'isional gox'crnor of .Arkansas as 
circuit judne of the .\inth .Judicial Circuit of 
that slate, his appoint meiit l)eing appi-oNcd by 
the Ihiited States military authorities. He 
ser\'e(l .-IS circiiil jud^e until h'ebruarx' 10, 
1.S71, when he was api)ointed as one of tlie 
justices of th(* Supreme Court of Arkansas. 
This a|)point men! was for a term of two years, 
and at its expiration he was elected to svicceed 
himself for a term of eight years, but this lat- 
ter term was cut short by the adoption of a 
new state constitution, which prescribed dif- 
ferent regulations in regard to the selection of 
the supreme court. 

For .several years Colonel Searle was a mem- 
ber of the Arkansas State Board of Education 
and also a member of the board of trustees of 
the Arkansas State Uiuvcrsity, which latter 
institution he hel])ed to found, and of which 
he drafted the plan of government and instruc- 
tion to be followed in all departments. He 
was also a member of the executive and 
building committees of the l)oard of trustees 
of that institution. 

In 1875 Colonel S(>arle returned to Illinois, 
locating at Chicago, where he practiced law 
for a few years, taking part as counsel in a 
number of important cases, and taking an 
active part in the Hayes-Tilden campaign, 
filling nearly all the speaking engagements of 



28 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



John A. Logan, who was ill. Later he prac- 
ticed law for a time in St. Louis, and then in 
Pana, Illinois, till 18S5. He then spent two 
years in travel, and in 1887 returned to his old 
home in Rock Island County, purchasing tiie 
well known Rodman home in Rock Island, 
and here he resided until his death. He also 
purchased the valuable farm in Zuma Town- 
ship, Rock Island County, ujjon which he had 
spent his boyhood. 

On April 1, 1SG3, Colonel Searle was mar- 
ried to Miss Cassie R. Pierce, who survives 
him, the marriage ceremonj' occurring at 
Springfield. Of this union six children were 
liorn, two of whom are still living, Hon. 
Charles J. Searle and Miss Blanche Searle, 
Itoth of Rock Island. 

The recent death of Colonel Searle removes 
from life's activities one of the few remaining 
links between the past and the present. He 
was a gentleman of the old school, modest, 
dignified, kind and courtous, and a delightful 
social companion among his friends. He 
was full of reminiscence and anecdote, 
and was a man of profound learning and 
broad general information. Upon political 
subjects and as a close student of times and 
conditions he was particularly well informed. 
Upon his return to Rock Island he lived in 
practical retirement, but his interest in politi- 
cal and economic questions was keen and to 
these subjects he devoted much thought. He 
was a man of the highest ideals, and deplored 
deeply the materialistic trend which he be- 
lieved the country was pursuing, feeling that 
it would work prejudice and finally, if un- 
checked, ruin to the Republic. But although 
foreseeing these dangers. Colonel Searle was 
by no means a pessimist. He supported men 
rather than party, and although a Republi- 
can, -was moulded after the type of those party 
leaders who believe in progress and reform. 
He was an ideal citizen, broad, intelligent 
and patriotic, a noble example of upright, 
conscientious manhood. 



SAMUEL SHARPE DAVIS. 

IN considering those among Rock Island's 
citizens whose activities have been directed 

toward developing that city's industries, and 
whose foresight has been rewarded in a most 
substantial manner, one's mind instinctively 
turns to the subject of our present sketch, 
Sanuicl Sharpe Davis. 

He was born February 1, 1858, at Coving- 
ton. Kentucky, his parents being John B. 
and Anna E. (Sharpe) Davis. To this couple 
three children were born: Thomas B., Sam- 
uel S. and Mary. The parents were of Scotch- 
Irish origin. Thomas Bodley Davis, the 
paternal grandfather was a native of Penn- 
sylvania. In early life he moved to Ken- 
tucky, and for some years served as captain 
of a steam boat plying between Pittsburg 
and New Orleans on the Ohio and Mississippi 
Rivers. Upon one of the trips up river from 
New Orleans he was stricken with yellow 
fever, and died l)eforc the completion of the 
journey. At the time of his death he was 
thirty-four years of age. 

The maternal grandfather, Samuel K. 
Sharpe, was a native of Kentucky. He was a 
practicing physician and surgeon. The great- 
er part of his life was spent in Maysville, 
Kentucky. He removed to Rock Island 
with his wife in 1875. Her death occurred in 
1881 at the age of seventj'-six years. Her 
husband survived her nine years, his death 
occurring in Rock Island in 1890, at the ex- 
treme age of ninety years. Dr. Sharpe was a 
remarkably strong man, both physically and 
mentally and was of pronounced religious 
conviction, giving his adherence to the Pres- 
byterian faith. In politics he was a Demo- 
crat. 

John B. Davis, the father of our subject, 
followed the calling of his father, that of a 
river captain, almost his entire life, princi- 
pally upon the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. 
For some time he had charge of Canadian 



// / N T () R I (' K C K I S L A N 1) (' U N T Y 



29 



Government boats carryiii,i>; the supplies of 
the Hudson Bay Fur ("()in])any cm the Sack- 
atchewan River. At the (lutlircak of tlie 
Civil War he eiilist('(l in the Second Minne- 
sota \'oliuitepr Infantry. }Ic was j)ronioted 
to the rank of major and fur nearly three 
years he served with his reyiiment. He was 
with his regiment in tlie battles of C'hicka- 
mauga, Mill Springs, Corinth and Tullahoma. 
At the battle of Chiekamauga he was 
wounded. Dvu'ing the time that Major Davis 
served with his regiment it was attached first 
to the commaufl of (leneral Hucll and later 
to that of General Thomas. 

After the close of the Civil War Major Davis, 
went to Augusta, Arkansas, and later located 
at Memphis, Tennessee, in ISfjS. He settled 
])ermanently in Rock Island in 1S74. He 
spent the greater ]iortion of his life ujion the 
river in command of the different river pack- 
ets. After coming to Rock Island he was one 
of the Diamond ,Jo \Anc cajitains until about 
one year before his death, which occurred in 
1S9(). when he was sixty-one years of age. 
His wife still makes Rock Island her home. 
Politically Major Davis was a staunch Demo- 
crat. He was a prominent Mason and a 
devoted member of the Presbyterian church, 
in which faith he died. 

Having thus passed rapidly over the points 
of interest in the lives of the forebears of our 
subject, we now come to treat of his life. 
His education was obtained in the schools of 
Memphis, Tennessee, and in Rock Island. In 
1S73 he was employed as clerk on the steamer 
'Montana," a lioat commanded by his father. 
He continiied in this service for several sea- 
sons, attending school during the winter 
months. In 1876 his father had a Govern- 
ment contract to carry supplies from Bis- 
marck, Dakota, up the Mis.souri, Yellowstone 
and Big Horn Rivers to the place where the 
Custer massacre occurred. Upon this expe- 
dition he was accompanied by his son. Upon 
their return to Rock Island the son was em- 
ployed as clerk for J. H. Langley, who was 



agent for a line of boats in the St. Louis and 
St. Paul trade. On .lannary 1, 1878, he was 
employed by Thonms Yates, in Moline, where 
he was engaged in the plumbing and steam 
fitting business. He continued in this em- 
ployment until the death of Mr. Yates, which 
occurred in l.SSl. .Mr. Davis and his bro- 
ther, Thomas B. ,l)a\'is, had obtained a num- 
ber of valuable patents upon steam appliances, 
and together with Jacob Riley, of Rock Island, 
they formed a partnership known as Davis 
A- Company They bought out the business 
interests of the Yates estate, both in Rock 
Island and Moline. In 1SS2 the Davis brothers 
bought out Mr. Riley's interest in the busi- 
ness and continue(l it themselves until 1.S91, 
when the Davis Company was incorporated 
by them. 

Meanwhile our subject was engaged in 
many important ojjerations. He planned 
anil superintendeii the construction of the 
Moline Waterworks, which was begun in the 
spring of 1884. He also installed the first 
electric light plant in the City of Moline. In 
1886 he constructed the Davis Block in that 
city, and as secretary and manager of the 
Merchants' Electric Light C'ompany lighted 
the streets of Moline. I<>ighty arc lights were 
installed, which supersedcnl the old street gas 
lamps with which the city had formerly been 
lighted. 

In 1887 the Peoples' Light and Fuel Manu- 
facturing Company was organized. Of this 
organization Mr. Davis was elected secre- 
tary and general manager. He purchased the 
stock of the Moline Gas and Coke Company 
and merged the institution with that of the 
Merchants' Electric Light Company. 

In 1888 the Merchants' Electric Light 
Company of Rock Island was organized. In 
the autumn of that same year a power ]ilant 
was erected in Moline so arranged as to utilize 
that city's splendifl water power in its oper- 
ation . The machinery of the Peoples' Light 
and Fuel Manufacturing Company of Moline, 
as well as that of the Merchants' Electric 



HISTORIC RO a K ISLAND COUNTY 



30 



Light Conii)any of Rock Island, was removed 
to this new power plant. This arrangement 
led lip to the formation of the Peoples' Power 
Company in 1893. This latter organization, 
which included the companies in which Mr. 
Davis was already interested, bought out the 
Rock Island Brush Electric Light Company 
and the Rock Island Gas and Coke Company. 
Both of these plants were removed to Moline, 
where they were located at the foot of Fourth 
Street in that city. Mr. Davis planned the 
reorganization and also the construction of 
the new plants. He sold his interests in the 
Peoples' Power Company in 1906. 

On September 21, 1892, occurred the mar- 
riage of Samuel Sharpe Davis and Miss Apol- 
lonia Weyerhaeuser, the daughter of Fred- 
erick and Sarah Weyerhaeuser. One child 
has been born of this marriage, a son, Edwin 
W. Davis. 

Mr. Davis in his church allegiance is a 
Presbyterian, and is a trustee of the Broadway 
Presbyterian Church, of Rock Island. In 
politics he is a Democrat, but he has never 
desired or held public office. Fraternally he 
is a member of Trio Lodge No. 57, Ancient 
Free and Accepted Masons, of Barrett 
Chapter No. 18, and of Evarts Commandry 
No. 18, Knights Templar. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Knights of Pythias and of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. Such are 
the interesting events in the career of a man, 
who through business sagacity and acumen, 
has risen to a commanding position in this 
locality's financial and industrial circles. 
Mr. Davis is a man vmiversally liked by all 
who are acquainted with him. Although at 
all times a busy man he is easily approachable. 
In manner he is unassuming and without os- 
tentation. He is one of Rock Island's most 
public spirited and progressive citizens, and 
no movement for the real advancement of 
the city is launched that does not receive his 
active and hearty cooperation, and where the 
project is one that requires financial subscrip- 
tion his gift is always a liberal one. In fine 



it may be said that Mr. Davis is pre-eminently 
an organizer and an executive, a man of great 
business talent, and a courteous, kindly 
gentleman. 



¥. E. TAYLOR, M, D. 

PLACED at the head of a great state charit- 
able institution, carrying the responsi- 
bility for the welfare of hundreds of un- 
fortunates whose reason has been shattered 
and imbued with an earnest desire to restore 
his unfortunate charges to health and friends, 
stands Doctor W. E. Taylor, superintendent 
of the Illinois Western Hospital for the Insane 
at Watertown. 

He was born at Waukesha, Wisconsin, May 
24, 1854, where his parents, E. T. and Esibell 
(Irving) Tavlor resided. Here his boyhood 
was spent, and after thoroughly fitting him- 
self in preparatory schools, he entered the 
LTni versify of Wisconsin, and upon complet- 
ing a course in that institution, took up the 
study of medicine at the Hahnemann Medical 
College at Chicago, from which he graduated. 
After his graduation, he began the practice 
of his chosen profession at Monmouth, Illi- 
nois, and remained in that city until his ap- 
pointment as superintendent of the Water- 
town Hospital for the Insane in 1897, which 
position he still holds. 

August 5, 1879, he was married to Miss 
Vagima McCleary, and of this union two sons 
have been born, Don and Mac Taylor. 

Dr. Taylor is a Republican and is promi- 
nent in the councils of his party, not merely 
locally, but throughout the State of Illinois. 
During the time he resided in Monmouth, he 
was at the head of the health department 
of that city for ten years, and was mayor of 
Monmouth for two years. In 1896 he was a 
presidential elector. He has campaigned 
throughout the state for his party every year 
since 1884. 





% 






ALEXANDER E. MOx\TGUMERY. 



// I sr O R 1 (' ROCK I S L A N D C (^ N T V 



:i\ 



He is recognized throvifiliout the medical 
profession in the United States as an author- 
ity on nervous diseases and disorders, and 
has a cliair on nervous diseases in the Hahne- 
mann Medical College, his own alma mater. 

Those who have talked with Dr. Taylor 
upon his specialty in the field of medicine, 
know how devoted he is to the study of the 
human, l)oth in its normal and abnormal 
conditions. He is a liroad investigator and is 
constantly striving to discover and put into 
practical use new means and methods of 
successfully treating the mental ills of those 
upon whose reason a cloud has fallen, and 
in his chosen field he has been eminently 
successful, and the number of cures that have 
been effected in the Watertown institution 
is truly remarkal)le. During his adminis- 
tration se\'eral new and comnKHlious build- 
ings have been added and the jiossibilities 
of the asylum for chnng effective^ work have 
been greatly increased. Another thing that 
is deserving of special mention is the fact 
that during the time Dr. Taylor has been in 
charge of this institution, not one breath of 
scandal has even Ijcen whispered concerning 
thi' manner of administration or the treat- 
ment of ]iatients. Nothing of gloom or des- 
pair pervades this asylum, but throughout 
each department there exists that spirit of 
helpful co-operation among the su]ierintend- 
ent, physicians and other employees, who 
unite in a determined effort to seek and find 
the best means of aiding in the restoration of 
impared reason. 



ALEXANDER E. MONTGOMERY. 

ALEXANDER E. MONTGOMERY, well 
and favorably known for a generation 
past in Moline and Rock Island, was 
born February 2, 1831, in County Down, Ire- 
land, and died in the City of Moline, Illinois, 
at his daughter's (Mrs. Thornton's) home, 
on Twelfth Avenue, July 17, 1906. His 



father and mother, James and Margaret (nee 
I'jwart,) were natives of Scotland, descended 
from Scotch-Irish ancestry, of honorable 
history. 

Mr. Montgomery received a (•ommou school 
ediication in his native land. In the year 
1S49, at fourteen years of age, he immigrated 
to New York City, and entered the service 
of the United States Hotel as bookkeeper. 
In the year 1853 he came west, and for sev- 
enteen years succeeding, lived on a farm in 
Rural Township, Illinois. At the ex]iiration 
of this period, in 1S70, Mr. Montgomery sold 
his farm, removed to Rock Island, and en- 
tered upon contract work for the United 
States Government, in connection with which 
he built the excellent rock road, which tra- 
verses the Arsenal l:)etween Moline and Dav- 
enport approaches. During the first year 
in this employment he resided part of the 
time in Rock Island and part of the time in 
Davenport; then taking up his abode in a 
dwelling on the .Arsenal Island, belonging 
to the government, he continued in that resi- 
dence until the house burneil down July 
21, 189S. Thenceforth Mr. Montgomery re- 
sided in .Moline until his death, continuing 
an unbroken service with the government 
for the ]irolonged jieriod of thirty-four years, 
during the earlier ]5ortion at the Arsenal 
Shops, and latterly as guard at the Moline 
Bridge, where his honest Scotch face and 
stiu'dy figure were a familiar and welcome 
object to the multitudes who passed his 
watch daily through many years. 

Republican in jiolitics, Mr. Montgomery 
never sought nor cared for office, being well 
content to pursue the even tenor of a quiet, 
industrious life, in the bosom of his family, 
and enjoying the respect and confidence of 
his neighbors. 

He was a devoted member of the United 
Presbyterian Church, and had tlie satisfac- 
tion of participating in the building of the 
beautiful church edifice and fine parsonage 
which were finished only recently, and of 



32 



// / ,S T () R I C R (' K I S L A N I) C O U N T Y 



worshiping to the end with his sons and 
daughters (whose biograi)liical sketches ap- 
pear in this l)()ok) about him. 

Mr. Montgomery was an active member 
of the Knights of America, the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, was a charter member 
and grand commander of McT^ean Lodge, No. 
26, of Moline, serving two years as com- 
mander and nine years as treasurer. 

Mr. Montgomery was married to Miss 
Margaret King in New York City, July 5, 
1850. Mrs. Montgomery was also a native 
of Ireland, born in County Armogh, and immi- 
grating to America in 1848, one year in ad- 
vance of him who was to become her husband, 
and with whom she lived in ideal conjugal 
happiness until her lamented death, April 
14, 1903. 

Eight children, four boys and four girls, 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery: 
Martha J., widow of Mr. John H. Thornton: 
Miss Lizzie; Maggie, wife of Mr. George W. 
Brooks; Alexander E., secretary and treasurer 
of the Moline Elevator Company; James T., 
who was, before his demise, president of the 
same, and who died August 4, lOOG; Robert 
J., superintendent of construction for the 
same, and Samuel H., president of the com- 
pany. One girl died in infancy in New York. 

All these surviving offspring reside in Mo- 
line, and all are actively connected with 
the floin-ishing manufacturing business, the 
growth and firm establishment of which their 
honored father watched with paternal solici- 
tude from its beginning. At the time of his 
death, his hopes for his family were realized 
and he was well content. 



HON. WILLIAM JACKSON. 

AMONG the old settlers of Rock Island 
County, who has assisted during his 
residence here in accomplishing many 
permanent reforms, is the Hon. William 
Jackson, who is entitled to honorable mention. 



Mr. Jackson was born in the City of Liver- 
pool, England, August 14, 1834, of English 
parentage. His early boyhood was spent in 
his native city. After leaving school, the 
last being the Liverpool Collegiate Institu- 
tion, he was, at an early age, apprenticed to a 
grocer. Serving part of his apprenticeship, 
and being very desirous of trying his fortune 
in the new world, where he had many rela- 
tives, he left the 28th of May, 1851, his na- 
tive city and landed in New York, July 2, of the 
same year. The great west being his ob- 
jective point he arrived in the County of 
Rock Island in August of the same year. 

In April, 1852, he came to the City of Mo- 
line where he first engaged in service in the 
plow factory of John Deere, then in its infan- 
cy, working there one year, during which 
time he performed alone particular labor 
which requires now in the extensive Deere 
Plow Works the labor of many persons. 
During the succeeding years he worked in 
the Sears Mill, of Moline, until the fall of 
1858, when he commenced the study of the 
law. He was admitted to practice in 1860, 
and then formed a law partnership with 
James Chapman of that cit.y. 

In 1862 Mr. Jackson moved to the City of 
Rock Island. In 1864 he formed a law 
partnership with E. D. Sweeney, Esquire, 
under the firm name of Sweeney & Jackson. 
About 1876 Mr. C. L. Walker entered the 
firm, which was afterwards known as Sweeney, 
Jackson & Walker. The firm continued un- 
til 1883. Mr. Jackson then retiring on account 
of ill health. 

In 1888 he formed a law partnership with 
E. W. Hurst, Esquire, under the name of 
Jackson & Hurst, which continued to 1903, 
when the firm was enlarged, being now known 
as Jackson, Hurst & Stafford. 

In the practice of his chosen profession Mr. 
Jackson has had his fair measure of success, 
having been engaged in many important 
suits. At the present time he is in active 
practice and one of the local attorneys of 




WIJ.LIAM JACKSON 



// / .S T URIC ROC K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



33 



the Chicago, Rock Inland ;iiiil Pacific R;uhvay. 

May 21, 1863, he was married to Miss Jen- 
nie E. Sammis, one of the teachers in the pub- 
lic schools of Rock IsKand. Mrs. Jackson was 
born in the City of New York. Two children 
are living, Mrs. Carrie A. Barth and Mrs. 
Hattie J. Babcock. 

In politics he is and always has l)een a 
Republican; in church association for fifty- 
eight years a Methodist, and is now a member 
of the official lx)ard of the First Methodist 
Episcopal Church of Rock Island. During 
his life Mr. Jackson has held two important 
offices: postmaster of tlie City of Rock Island 
from 1S73 to 1876, and member of the board 
of managers of the Illinois State Reformatory 
from 1897 to 1901. At [irescnt he is ))resident 
of the board of park commissioners of the 
City of Rock Island, a work in which he takes 
great interest as shown in the iin])rovi'ment 
and beautifying of Spencer Square, which 
was done under his direction. 

Mr. Jackson has always aimed to ad\'ance 
the best interests of the city of his residence- 
believing that the community in which he has 
lived, and which has liberally contriljuted to 
whatever success he has attained, deserved 
on his part a reciprocal obligation. 



MAJOR HENRY CLAY CONNELLY. 

THE record of Major Henry Clay Con- 
nelly, both as a soldier and as a civilian, 
is a brilliant one and will live long after 
he has passed to another world. His father 
was James Connelly, a son of Bernard Con- 
nelly, who settled in Philadelphia about 1800. 
He afterwards located in Somerset County, 
Pennsylvania, where, as a dealer in live stock 
he became successful. His wife, of English 
birth, was a Miss Eggleton. She was the 
first member of the Episcopal Church of Eng- 
land in that county and for many years the 
only one. James Connelly arrived at man- 
hood in Somerset County and aided his father 



in the management of his interests. Some 
years later he moved to Petersburg, a village 
in Somerset County lying on the Great Na- 
tional {{oad, where hi' became influential and 
prosperous. He was one of the original pro- 
moters and builders of the National Road and 
was a leading citizen of that locality. His 
wife was Marie Hugus, her progenitors on 
both sides being of the sturdy and fearless 
Huguenot stock, patriots whose zeal and sac- 
rifices have carved for them an imperishable 
name throughout Christendom. Several of her 
ancestors, the Hugus and Ankeny families, 
were Revolutionary soldiers. Peter Ankeny, 
our subject's great-grand-father, was a cap- 
tain in the Revolutionary War under Wash- 
ington. His wife was a Miss Rosa Bonnet, 
a member (if the historical French family. 

Major Henry Clay Connelly was born in 
Petersburg, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, 
Decemljer 21?, 1H^\ , and was the fourth in 
order of a family of eight children. It was 
there he s])enl his Ixiyliood days until the 
death of his father, after which his mother 
moved to the town of Somerset. There the 
children of Mrs. Connelly were given the best 
educational advantages obtainable, and there 
Major Connelly graduated from the Somerset 
Academy. After leaving school he mastered 
the art of printing in the office of the Somer- 
set Vif:itor, then pul)lished and edited liy 
General A. H. Coffroth. who afterwards be- 
came distinguished anil was pallbearer at 
President Lincoln's funeral when a member 
of Congress. At the age of twenty, Mr. Con- 
nelly was a half-owner and editor of the 
Beaver Star. Two years and a half later he 
disposed of his interest in that newspaper, 
formed a partnership with Emanuel J. Per- 
shing, and came to Rock Island where he has 
since resided. Arriving here February 18, 
1855, he and Mr. Pershing published the 
Weekly Rock Islander. They established a 
daily in May, 1855. Bound volumes of this 
paper can now be seen in the Public Library, 
in which will be found the various incidents 



:i4 



H I ST RI C R C K ISLAND COUNTY 



of life at that early day. In the year 1857, 
Mr. Connelly and his partner ]inrfhased the 
Argus and consolidated the two papers under 
the title of the Islander and Arf/us. 

In the year 1S58 Mr. Connelly commenced 
reading' law with Judge J. W. Drury. He did 
not, however, sever his connection with the 
newspaper until September, IS.'SO. He Avas 
admitted to the bar in January, 1860, and re- 
mained in legal harness until September 12, 
1862, when he entered the I'nion Army. At 
that date he did not dream of the future that 
awaited him, and of which the following 
gives an insight of the numerous battles in 
which he participated: ('elina, Tennessee, 
April 18, 19, 1862; Turkey Neck Bend, Ten- 
nessee, pursuit of Colonel Il.iiuilton's troops, 
June 12, 1863; Morgan's raid through Ken- 
tucky, Indiana and Ohio, July 1-26, 1863; 
Marrowbone or Rurks\-ille, Kentucky, (Mor- 
gan's raid), July 2, 1863; Buffington Island, 
or St. George Creek, Ohio (Morgan's raid), 
July 19. 1863; AVashington. Ohio (Morgan's 
raid), July 24, 1863; near Salineville, Ohio, 
(Morgan captured), July 26, 1863; Knoxville, 
Tennessee, (city captured), September 1, 1863; 
Powell's River, Tennessee, September 6, 1863; 
Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, (assaulted and 
captured under General Burnside), Septem- 
ber 9, 1863; Kingsport, Tennessee, September 
17, 1863; Bristol, Tennessee, September 10, 
1863; Zollicoffer, Tennessee, September 20, 
1863; Blountville, Tennes.see, September 22, 
1863; Blue Spring, Tennessee, (under General 
Burnside), October 10, 1863; Bristol Station, 
Tennessee, October 14, 1863; New Madrid, 
Tennessee, October 22, 1863; Holsten River, 
near Knoxville, Tennessee, November 15, 1863; 
Campbell's Station, Tennessee, November 17, 
18, 1863 ; siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, (under 
General B\irnsicle), November, 1863; Walker's 
Ford, or Clinch River, Tennessee, December 1, 
2, 1863; Clinch Mountain, Tennessee, Decem- 
ber 6, 1863; Bean Station, Tennessee, Decem- 
ber 14, 1863; Blaine's Cross Ro.ads, Tennessee, 
December 16, 1863; Mossy Creek, Tennessee, 



December 26, 1863; Dandridge. Tennessee, 
December 29, 1863; Strawberry Plains, Ten- 
nessee, January 10, 1864; Dandridge, Tennes- 
see (second fight), January 16, 17, 1864; Fair- 
garden, French Broad, or Kelly's Ford, Ten- 
nessee, January 27, 1864; Sevierville, Tennes- 
see, January 28, 1864; Cherokee Indian Bat- 
tle, North Carolina, February 2, 1864; Bat- 
tle of Atlanta, Georgia, July 22, 1864; on the 
retreat when General Hood advanced from 
the Tennessee River to Columbia on Waynes- 
borough Road, Tennessee, fighting General 
Forrest, November 22, 23, 24, 1864; Duck 
River, Tennessee, fighting General Forrest, 
November 28, 29, 1864; Battle of Franklin, 
Tennessee, November 30, 1864; Battle of 
Nashville, Tennessee, December 15, 16, 1864; 
Franklin, Tennessee, December 17, 1864. 

We take the following from the Chicago 
Inler-Ocenn, dated September 27, 1887: 
"Henry Clay Connelly is a member of General 
John Buford Post, No. 243, Rock Island, of 
which he was a charter memlier and its first 
commander. He is a delegate to the National 
Encam]iment which meets at St. Louis this 
month. He was commissioned second lieu- 
tenant of Comjjany L, Fourteenth Illinois 
Cavalry, January 7th, 1863. In the spring 
the regiment went to the front, its first head- 
quarters being Glasgow, Kentucky. While 
here the regiment was active in scouting, and 
the Confederate forces at Celina and near 
Turkey Neck Bend, on the Cumberland 
River, were attacked and routed. The next 
work was the pursuit of General Morgan and 
his cavalry command for twenty-eight days 
and nights, the battle of Buffington Island, 
in Ohio, and the capture of Morgan and most 
of his command. Lieutenant Connelly was 
present at the capture. In August, under 
General Burnside, the Union forces went to 
East Tennessee. With the advance guard. 
Lieutenant Connelly entered Knoxville Sep- 
tember 1st, General Burnside arriving on the 
3d. He heard the last toot of the last Con- 
federate locomotive of General Buckner, 




MAJOR HKXRY C. CO.XXELLY 



HISTORIC ROCK IS L A N D CO f ' iV 7' 1' 



35 



coiinnanclinii the ("onfiHJcrates, sotiiHlfcl in 
Knoxville. He was at the taking of Ciinibpr- 
land Gap, at Bristol, and at the numerous 
encounters in that locality; at the defense of 
Knoxville and its incidents; at Hean Station, 
at Dandridge, Fair Garden, Walker's Ford, 
Strawberry Plains, and at the battle with 
Thomas' Cherokee Indians in Nortli Carolina. 
During the East Tennessee campaign he was 
placed in charge of a liattery of artillery. On 
tlie Indian raid, after following a mountain- 
ous Indian trail, on the '.M of Feliruary the 
Chcrokees were surprised in their camp, at- 
tacketl and the legion cut to pieces, many of 
them being killed or capt\nvd. Lieutenant 
Connelly had with him only a part of his bat- 
tery. Herculean efforts were requiretl to 
take the guns and caissons over the great 
mountains and through the dee]i ravines, but 
the work was successfully accom]ilished. 
General (irant, in a special dis))atch, highly 
com])limented the Fourteenth for this work. 
Major Connelly receivivl his commission as 
captain after this expcdiiiun, being ]3romoted 
over his first lieutenant. He did duty at 
brigade and division headquarters as assis- 
tant adjutant general and also as inspector. 
He participated in the Atlanta campaign: 
and on the Macon raid his regiment, being in 
General Stoneman's command, shared in the 
misfortimes of this ollici>r, but only after it 
had cut its way out in a s|)lendid charge. 
Being dismounted by reason of loss nf liorses 
on the Macon raid, the regiment tlid duty as 
infantry at the siege of Atlanta, and was one 
of the fir.st which entered the city after its fall. 
Being remounted and re-eqTupp(Ml, about the 
1st of November, 1864, it t(i()k a ])nsiti()n on 
the right of the Union Army on the Tennessee 
River to watch the advance of General Hood's 
great army. From this river to Columbia, 
Major Connelly day and night was with the 
rear guard, being repeatedly surrounded. 
With splendid courage his command charged 
the Confederate lines with success. Near 
Mount Pleasant, and also Duck River, after 



dark, finding himself cut (iff and surrounded, 
he i)lacc<l liiinscjf at the head of his command 
and carried his cDlunin thi'iiugh the Confed- 
erate lines with success. 

Durii.g the ad\anci' of General Hood's 
aggressi\'e army, including the battle of 
Fraid\lin and the aihance of the Union Army 
at Nash\ille, his oflicei's and the men of his 
command s])e;d< in eulogistic terms of Major 
Connelly's h^adersiiip and his sterling quali- 
ties as a. soldier. I'roin second lieutenant 
he was promoted ca])tain over his first lieu- 
tenant and l>v a vote of the officers of his regi- 
ment, who .also \-oiced the sentiment of thi' 
rank and Hie, he was elected major over six 
captains who held commissions older than his. 

The Inlcr-Orian's article is Ijrief, and does 
not give in detail the events leading to Cap- 
tain Connelly's promotion, wliich are now re- 
lated; Colonel F. M. Daxidson, of the Four- 
teenth, wrote two letters to Governor Oglesby 
recommending him for the position of major. 
These letters were written at F^dgefield, Ten- 
nessee, the first l;)earing date of February 7, 
1865, in which Colonel Davidson says: "In 
reconrmending Cajitain Connelly for this po- 
.sition (major) it affords me much pleasure to 
bear witness to the gallant and successfid 
manner in whicli he lias conducted himself 
as a soldier whenever and wliere\-er he has been 
called upon to face the encuiy. His bearing 
on the Morgan raid until the day he (Morgan) 
was captured; his skill throughout the entire 
campaign in East Tennessee under General 
Burnside, and j^articularly on the 14th day of 
December, 1863, at the battle of Bean Sta- 
tion, fighting General Longstreet's corps, in 
wdiich he handled his battery with the coolest 
daring and most splendid success; his energy 
on the (Cherokee) North Carolina expedition 
in the month of February, 1864, commanded 
by myself; his bravery and dash during the 
recent campaign in Tennessee under General 
Thomas, and particularly on the night of the 
23d of November, 1864, when, being sur- 
rounded by General Forrest, and after other 



36 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



officers failed in charging the enemy's lines, 
he placed himself at the head of the column, 
rallied the men, and charged out without the 
loss of a man; and also on the 15th of Decem- 
ber (at Nashville) when he rallied his regi- 
ment, after being broken under a fearful can- 
nonade from the enemy's batteries. In short 
his whole career as a soldier proves him to be 
worthy of prompt promotion." 

Governor Oglesby hesitated to commission 
a junior captain over so many seniors; and 
Colonel Davidson, being advi.sed of this hesi- 
tation, on March 28, 1865, wrote to him again 
as follows: "I can only repeat what I said 
of Captain Connelly in my communication to 
Governor Oglesby dated February 7, 1865. 
Aside from his being an officer of the first or- 
der (particular mention of some of his acts of 
bravery being there .set forth), his high tone 
as a gentleman, and his acknowledged talent 
as a man, loudly call for official recognition 
of his services to his country. He has capac- 
ity for any position as field officer. Anything 
you may be able to do for him will be esteemed 
as a personal favor." 

June 22, 1865, Governor Oglesby issued to 
Captain Connelly his commission as major. 

In the Rock Island Argus of July 10, 1865, 
we find the following: "Major H. C. Connelly 
of the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, arrived 
home on Saturday evening, and is a citizen 
again. No officer from our county has ac- 
quitted himself with more credit or returned 
with a better reputation. Iioth among the 
soldiers and peo])le." 

Upon his rettn-n from the war, Major Con- 
nelly resumed his law practice. In 1866 he 
was elected police magistrate for a term of 
four years. He was elected city attorney 
for Rock Island to serve during the vears 
1869, 1870 and 1871. In January, 1894, 
his son, Bernard D., became associated 
with him under the firm title of Connelly & 
Connelly. Their practice covers the various 
branches of law and the firm ranks as one of 
the leading law firms of Rock Island County. 



Aside from the practice of law. Major Con- 
nelly has been identified with several local 
enterprises. Upon the death of Bailey Dav- 
enport he succeeded to the presidency of 
the Rock Island and Jlilan Street Railway 
Company. He was one of the original stock 
holders in the Rock Island Buggy Company, 
as well as in the Rock Island Savings Bank 
and State Bank. He was one of the orig- 
inal incorporators and assisted in the passage 
of the bill through both branches of Congress, 
authorizing the construction of the electric 
railroad now crossing the Mississippi River 
between Rock Island and Davenport, Iowa. 
He has always been active and taken great 
interest in all matters pertaining to the ad- 
vancement and the prosperity of Rock 
Island, and in 1861 labored many weeks with 
senators and members of the House at Wash- 
ington to secure the passage of the bill by 
Congress, locating the great National Arsenal 
at Rock Island. He is the last survivor of 
the committee of ten from Davenport, Rock 
Island and Moline, who went to Washington 
in the fall of 1861 to aid in the passage by 
Congress of the Arsenal Bill. 

He is one of the few living citizens who saw 
Black Hawk, the Indian chief, in his life- 
time. 

In his former years Major Connelly was a 
strong believer in and supporter of the doc- 
trines of the Democratic party. During the 
Buchanan campaign of 1856 and the Douglas- 
Lincoln campaign of 185S he was an active 
worker. The late Judge Jerry S. Black, who 
was a personal friend of Major Connelly, and 
at that time a member of Mr. Buchanan's 
Cabinet, tendered him the position of post- 
master of Rock Island. This appointment 
he respectfully declined. He was a firm 
friend of Senator Douglas, and considered it 
inconsistent for liim to accept office from 
Presicient Buchanan, while he was using the 
power of his administration in the state 
(though unsuccessfully), to defeat Senator 
Douglas. President Johnson appointed him 



H I ST R [ C R C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



37 



postmaster of Roi'k Islatid, hut a Republican 
Senate failed to confirm the iiomiuation. 

In 1882, the late P. L. Cable, at the Demo- 
cratic Congressional Convention at Mon- 
mouth, i)laced in nomination Major Connelly 
for Congress. The Democratic State Con- 
vention, which convened at Peoria in 1884, 
elected hini tem])()rary cliairinan. On the 
money question he voted for President 
McKinley, and has sinc(> suDported tlie ])rin- 
ciples of the Republiciin Party. 

He was a tireless worker for, and visited 
Washington to aid in th(> passage of the Hen- 
nepin Canal Hill. I'or man\- years he served 
as member antl president of the school board, 
as well as a meml)(>r, president and secretary 
of the library Ijoard. < )n his seventieth birth- 
day tlie liar of Rock Island C(.)unty presented 
Major Connelly with a gokl mounted cane. 

On May 12, 1S.">7. Major Connelly married 
Miss Adalaide ^IcCall, daughter of Clark and 
Hannah (Hanfordl McCall. She is a native 
of New' York. Her earlier ancestors did 
duty in the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars. 
Of their children Clark H. and Alvin H. are 
manufacturers of and dealers in hardwodd 
lumber at Kansas City, Missouri; .Mabel is th(> 
wife of Dr. C. W. McCavren, of Missouri Vid- 
ley, Iowa: Pernard D. is in jiartnershij) with 
his father, and .Miss Lucia is deceased. 

Bernard D. Connelly is a Rock Islander l\v 
birth, being born October ]'.). ISOG. He is a 
graduate of the High School n( Rock Island, 
and the State University of Iowa, where he 
acquitted himself with honor. He was ad- 
mitted to the liar in ISOl, at the time being 
associated with the law firm of Douthitt, 
Jones & Mason, of Top(d<a, Kansas. Since 
January, 1894, he has been associated with 
his father in the practice of law under the 
firm name of Connelly & Connelly. On De- 
cember 22, 19D3, lie marriiMl Miss Elizabeth 
Chanil.)erlin. Mr. Connelly is a meml)er of the 
Phi Delta Theta college fraternity and is a Son 
o( the American Revolution. He is the present 
Master In Chancery of Rock Island County. 



COLONEL HENRY CURTIS. 

0X1^ of the prominent citizens of Hock 
Island, and a man of high standing in 
the legal profession, was Colonel Henry 
Curtis, deceased. 

He was born at Host<in, Massachusetts, 
August 13, 1S34, the home of his parents. 
Henry and Rebecca L. (Everett) Curtis, and 
in that city he spent his boyhood and re- 
cei\'ed his preliminary education. This was 
fini.died by a course in the English High 
School of his native city, wliich fitted him for 
entrance into the Rensselaer Polvtechnic 
Institute at Troy, New York, where he pur- 
sued an engineering course, and grachuited 
in 18.5.5 as a civil engineer. 

In 1856 Mr. Curtis came to Rock Island, 
where, one year later, December 15, 1857, 
he married Lucy \{. (.)sborn. the daughter of 
Marcus P. Osborn. 

He continued his practice as a civil engi- 
neer in Rock Island until Octolier S, 1860, 
when, ha\ing fitted himself for the legal 
])rofession, he was admitted to the Rock 
Island County I>ar. Cpon taking up the 
practice of his new ])rol'ession, Mr. Curtis 
entered into partnershi]i with his brother- 
in-law, Charles M. Osborn. under the firm 
name of Osborn tV Curtis, and this partner- 
ship continued until 1880, when it was dis- 
solved, Mr. Osborn removing to Chicago 
ami Mr. Curtis continuing in the practice 
alone until his death. During the contin- 
uance of the firm they were attorneys for the 
Rock Island Road. In 1887 Mr. Curtis was 
appointed master in chancery for Rock 
Island County by Judge George W. Pleasants, 
which office he held continuously for nearly 
twenty-five years. A staunch Republican, 
Mr. Curtis never aspired to an active career 
in political life, and the office of master in 
chancery was the only one he ever held dur- 
ing his long and honored career in Rock 
Island. 

Soon after !\Ir. Curtis came to Rock Island 



38 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the Civil War broke out, and he, together 
with Major Charles W. Hawes and others, 
organized a company of volunteers, consist- 
ing of one hundred and sixteen men. Dur- 
ing the first year of the war this company 
was mustered into the Thirty-seventh Illi- 
nois Volunteer Infantry, Mr. Curtis bearing 
the rank of lieutenant, M. S. Barnes of Rock 
Island being captain of the company, which 
was known as Company A. This company 
was mustered into service at Camp Webb, 
in Chicago; Julius White of that city being 
the first colonel of the regiment to which 
they were assigned. M. S. Barnes, the cap- 
tain of Company A, was made lieutenant- 
colonel, and this created a vacant captaincy 
to which .John A. Jordan was elected. He 
served for three months and was then suc- 
ceeded by Lieutenant Curtis, who continued 
as captain of the company until March 7, 
1862, when he was severely wounded at the 
battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. He was 
granted leave of absence, and upon his recov- 
ery again rejoined his company and shortly 
afterward was cho.sen assistant adjutant- 
general by the former colonel of his regiment, 
who had meanwhile been appointed briga- 
dier-general. 

The remainder of Colonel Curtis' military 
service was in the Eastern Army. One 
notable incident in this service was the siege 
and surrender of Harper's Ferry, in which 
he took a very prominent part. His war 
record throughout was distinguished by 
bravery and loyalty. At the end of the war 
he was brevetted a lieutenant-colonel. 

At the close of the war Colonel Ciu'tis re- 
turned to Rock Island and again resumed the 
practice of law together with his partner, Mr. 
Osborn. As has been stated, his career as a 
lawyer was a long and honorable one. He 
achieved and maintained an exalted position 
in the forefront of his profession, and was 
held in confidence and high esteem by all 
who knew him. After the firm of Osborn 
A: Curtis was dissolved, ^Ir. Curtis formed a 



partnership with his son, Hugh E. Curtis, 
for the purpose of drawing abstracts of title, 
and this firm, under the active management 
of Hugh E. Curtis, continued until the death 
of Colonel Curtis, when the son assumed full 
charge of the business. 

On November 17, 1902, Colonel Curtis was 
bereaved by the death of his wife. Of this 
marriage four children were born: Henry R. 
Curtis, St. Paul, Minnesota; Osborn M. Cur- 
tis, New York City; Hope G. C. Jones, wife 
of Commodore H. W. Jones, United States 
Navy, residing at Washington, District of 
Columbia, and Hugh E. Curtis, of Rock 
Island. 

On September 12, 190.5, death brought to 
a close the long and useful life of Colonel 
Henry Curtis, his demise occurring at Mar- 
blehead, Massachusetts. He had been in 
failing health for some years and had retired 
from active professional and business life. 
His death was a distinct loss to the com- 
munity in which he had s])ent the best years 
of his manhood, and in the tributes paid to 
his memory by his fellow members of the 
bar and others who were intimately asso- 
ciated with him the sentiment was general 
and profound that Colonel Henry Curtis was 
a character above reproach, an honorble, 
sincere and ujiright gentleman. 
'M m -a 

ELMORE ¥. HURST. 

AN ABLE lawyer, a successful financier, 
and a man recogniz ed as a state leader 
in Illinois Democracy, is Elmore W. 
Hurst, of Rock Island, one of the .senior mem- 
bers of the legal firnr of Jackson, Hurst & 
Stafford. 

Mr. Hurst was born December 6, 1851, in 
Rock Island, which city has ever since been 
his home. His parents were William and 
.\nna (Hurlock) Hurst, both natives of the 
State of Delaware. The father, who was of 
English descent, came to Rock Island in 1837, 
and here he was engaged in mercantile pur- 




KLMuKlt: W, HUHST. 



HISTORIC RO C K I S L A X D C (J U .V T V 



39 



suits. Cominj;- to Ruck Island when what is 
now a city, was l)ut a mere handful of ]WM)ple 
gathered together in a little \-illage, he saw 
the town gradually increase in size and irn- 
portauee as new business enterprises were 
added from time to time, and in that growth 
and jirogress he, himself, was prominently 
identified. Both tlie elder Mr. and Mrs. 
Hurst were among the early members of the 
First Methodist Church of Rock Island, and 
were unswerving and untiring in their loyal- 
ty and devotion to the church of their choice. 
To this couple were born five children, three 
oi' whom ai'e still living: Miss Mary Hurst, 
Mrs. Julia Stafford, and Elmore W. Hurst, 
the subject of this review. 

Aftt'r completing a course of study in the 
pulilic schools of Rock Island, Elmore W. 
Hurst decided u])on a business career, be- 
giiming as boi.ikkeeper, and later being pro- 
moled to the position of assistant casliier 
in the Rock Island National Bank. His 
coiuiection with that institution continued 
for eight years. M^. Hurst had for some 
considerable time cherished an amljition to 
become a lawyer, and at the end of his eight 
years of service in the banking house in which 
he was employed, he had formed a definite 
determination 1o fit himself for membership 
in the legal profession. \\\\\\ that end in 
view he took up the study of law in the office 
of the Hon. W. H. Gest, who was tluMi a 
practicing attorney in Rock Island, and in 
1883 Mr. H\u-st was admitted to the bar. 
Immediately u])on his admission as un attor- 
ney he began the practice of his profession. 
A man of great natural al)ility and of close 
application his rise in the profession has been 
a steady one. and today both he, himself, 
and the firm of which he is a memlKU-, are 
recognize(l as leaders at the Rock Island 
County Bar. In 1S91 Mr. Hurst formed a 
partnership with the Hon. William Jackson, 
the style of the firm being Jackson it Hurst. 
This jiartnership continued until 1002 when 
the firm was enlarged bv the admission into 



it of Mr. Hurst's two nephews, ,Iohn T. and 
l^lmore H. Stafford. This firm's offices in the 
Masonic Temple are the most commodious 
ami well arranged in the city, the volume of 
theii' luisiiu'ss i'c(piii-ing the employment of 
several assistants. 

On May "29, 1873, occurre(l the marriage 
of Mr. Hurst and Miss Harriet .M, Field. For 
years Mr. and Mrs. Hurst made their home 
on the corner of Nineteenth Street and Sixth 
.\\cnue in Rock Island, hut in I'.IOCi Mr. 
Hiii'st purchased the old liuford residence 
at the head of Eighteenth .'-Itreet, a large and 
hanilsome edifice biiill in the old Soutliern 
style of architecture. This he lias thoroughly 
remodeled and motlernized, and there he 
now resides. 

He is a large owner of farm lands in the 
north and west and has extensive holdings 
in business realty in Rock Island, also Ijeing 
interested as a stock holder in several banks, 
both in Rock Island and in western cities. 
Mr. Hiu'st is a man of business sagacity and 
financial acumen, and the modest fortune 
which he has aceun\ulatetl is an honest one, 
the result of prudent aiul careful in\-estment 
in re.al estate that has increased gri^atly in 
\-alue and whicdi lunv yiekls handsome re- 
turns. 

As has been stated, Mr. Hurst is a promi- 
nent Democrat. He was elected on that 
ticket to the Illinois Legislature in 1888 and 
101)0. His name has been several times 
mentioned as a possil)le candidate for Gov- 
ernor of Illinois upon the Democratic ticket, 
aiul it is certain that he could have received 
the honor of a n<unination to that office at 
the hands of his ])arty had he so desired. 

He is a mendjcu- of the First Methodist 
Chiu'ch. the church of his [larents. where, 
for sevei'al years, he lilleil the office^ of one of 
the trustees. Fraternally, he is identified 
with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern 
Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen. 

During the vears lOO.T and lOOG Afr. Hurst 



40 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



was elected president of the Rock Island Coun- 
ty Bar Association, his successor in that office 
being Hon. Chas. J. Searle, the present incum- 
bent. 

A man of strong personality, Mr. Hurst 
commands the admiration and respect, not 
only of his fellow members of the bar, but of 
the body of Rock Island's citizenship. He is 
honorable, upright and conscientious in his 
dealings, and always absolutely fair and 
sincere. He is a man who believes in the 
future of his native city and he has proved 
that his belief is a sincere one by investing 
many thousands of dollars in Rock Island 
real estate, and by improving property that 
he owns. Such men are invaluable to any 
city in which they exert their ability and 
e.xpend large sums of money in its improve- 
ment. 

Vi ^ Hi 

REV. CHRISTOPHER A. MENNICKE. 

ONE of Rock Island's most revered and 
honored ministers of the gospel, a man 
who has grown old in the service of his 
God and his church, is Rev. C. A. Mennicke, 
pastor of the German Evangelical Lutheran 
Immanuels Congregation. 

He was born September 17, 1S.S4, at Frierl- 
richsschwerz, a small place near Halle, in 
Prussia, his parents iieing Andreas and Caro- 
lina (Winter) Mennicke. He received his 
early education in the institutions of Halle, 
Germany. An vuicle. Professor F. Winter 
whose home was in America, wrote to the 
young student and urged him to come to this 
country. He left Germany in 1854 and came 
to America, locating at St. Louis. The main 
purpose of his coming was to prepare for the 
ministry of the German Evangelical Luth- 
eran Church in America, a hope and aspira- 
tion that he had cherished from early boy- 
hood. Soon after reaching St. Louis our 
subject entered Concordia Seminary in that 
city, and here he pursued a four years' classi- 
cal course, upon the comjaletion of which he 



entered upon and finished a theological course 
of three years at the same institution, grad- 
uating in May, 1861. Shortly after his grad- 
uation he received and accepted a call as pas- 
tor of the German Evangelical Lutheran 
Immanuels Church at Rock Island, a pastor- 
ate that he has held ever since. The first 
parsonage in which Rev. Mennicke dwelt was 
located on what is now Thirteenth Street and 
Sixth Avenue, but which was then known as 
Beaver and Pleasant Streets. Here he made 
his home until 1869, since which time he has 
resided at the present parsonage located at 
1923 Fifth Avenue. 

On October 20, 1861, shortly after taking 
up his pastorate in Rock Island, Rev. Men- 
nicke was joined in marriage to Miss Anna 
D. Mangelsdorf, a young lady of St. Louis. 
The marriage ceremony was performed by 
Rev. F. Doescher, of Iowa City, Iowa, the 
marriage taking place at Rock Island. Four- 
teen children were born of this union, four of 
whom died in their early youth. Those liv- 
ing are: Mrs. Anna Hohenstein, wife of Rev. 
0. L. Hohenstein, of Bloomington, Illinois; 
Mrs. Amalie Streckfus, widow of Rev. J. A. 
Streckfus, residing at home; Rev. August C. 
Mennicke, of Edford Township, Henry County, 
Illinois; Mrs. Maria Kroeger, wife of Rev. F. 
Kroeger, of Hinckley, Illinois; Rev. Ernest 
D. Mennicke, assistant pastor of German 
Evangelical Lutheran Immanuels Church, of 
Rock Island; Mrs. Caroline Schmidt, wife of 
Rev. H. Schmidt, of Galesburg, Illinois; Rev. 
Charles G. Mennicke, of Four Corners, Iowa, 
and the Misses Clara, Justine and Frieda 
Mennicke. at home. 

From 1861 to 1862 Rev. Mennicke in addi- 
tion to his pastoral duties acted as teacher of 
the parochial school established in connection 
with his church. At times he was assisted 
in this work by his wife, and the duty of 
developing the minds of the children of the 
church and of establishing their feet in the 
paths of religion was faithfully performed by 
this devoted couple. 



HISTORIC ROCK IS L A N D COUNT Y 



41 



In 1886 was celebrated the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of Rev. Mennicke's pastorate at 
Rock Island. On the same day his son, 
Augnst C. Mennirke, was ordained as a min- 
ister of the Lutheran ilciiominat idii, and was 
installed as assistant ]iastor of the chm-ch at 
Rock Island, thus beini; enabled to relieve his 
father of some of the more arduous duties in 
connection with the extensive work of the 
church. 

Rev. Mennicke is a member of the (lerman 
Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, 
Ohio and other states. For years he has been 
an officer of the Illinois District of the Synod 
for Central Illinois, and chairman of the 
Central Illinois Conference. 

For almost fifty years this good man has 
labored assiduously in Rock Island for the 
n):)lifting of mankind and the salvation of 
souls. He has grown old in the service of 
Christ and the church, but who can measure 
the good that he lias accom|)lislied in the la- 
bors of a lifetime. Such lives as his have a 
benign induence upon mankind. And in his 
latter years as he looks backward upon his life's 
work, although his labor has not l)ro\ight to 
him a liberal financial reward, still he has 
love, reverence and regard of all who have 
ever come within the circle of his acquaint- 
ance. 

m fs m 
HENRY J. FRICK. 

HE life record of Henry •!. brick, the 
subject of our ]iresent sketch, is that of a 
self-made man; a man wlio through his 
unflagging industry and undaunted persever- 
ance has achieved for himself not only a com- 
fortable competence, but an envial)le reputa- 
tion for unswerving integrity and uncom]iro- 
mising honor. 

He was bcirn August ol, 1S5S, at Rock 
Island, and this city has been his home ever 
since, with the exception of one and one-half 
years spent in Scott County, bnva. His par- 



T 



ents were \\'illiam and Caroline (Dietrich) 
Frick. Both were natives of Germany. 
They emigrated to the United States in LS51. 
The first four years after coming to their new 
home they sjient in I'tica, State of New York. 
They moved to Rock Island in 1855 where his 
father took out his pjipers in 1856. Here the 
father was connected with the Rock Island 
Railway, being in charge of tlie local baggage 
and freight department. The death of the 
mother occurred in 1878, anil that of the fa- 
ther in 1882. 

Their son received a common school educa- 
tion in the Rock Island pul)lic schools. At 
the age of fifteen years he decided to follow 
the plumbing traile and with that end in view 
he entered the employ of Fred Hass as an 
apprentice for a year and one-half, after which 
he abandoned his intention of becoming a 
]ilumber, and entered the employ of the Rock 
Island Railway as a locomotive fireman at the 
age of seventeen years. This occupation he fol- 
lowed for eight years, residing part of the time 
in Buffalo, Scott County, Iowa, where he ,serv • 
ed one year as a township oflRcer. He then 
decided to embark in the livery business and 
together with Gottlieb Zwicker formed the 
firm known as Zwicker A: Frick at Rock Island 
Their partnership continued for seven months, 
when Mr. Zwicker disposed of his interest in 
the business to Chas. Hansgen. Upon this 
business change the firm was known as Frick 
c^' Hansgen. Mr. Frick and Mr. Hansgen 
continued the jjartnership for about three 
years. Then Frank Kautz purchased Mr. 
Hansgen's share in the enterprise, and the 
firm name was changed to Frick it Kautz. 
The business association of Mr. Frick and Mr. 
Kautz continued for more than ten years. 
Then Mr. Frick purchased his partner's inter- 
est, and has since continued the business 
alone. Largely through Mr. Frick's indi- 
vidual efforts the business has constantly 
grown in size and im]3ortance, and today Mr. 
Frick possesses one of the largest and most 



42 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



completely equipped livery establishments 
in the Tri-Cities. 

On February 21, 1884, Mr. Frick was uni- 
ted in marriage to Miss Susanna Kautz, a 
daughter of Fritz and Barbara Kautz, of Buf- 
falo, Iowa. Two children, both daughters, 
were born of this union, Adelia E. and Ber- 
tha C. Mr. Fi'ick was deprived of a devoted 
wife and his daughters of a loving mother by 
the death of Mrs. Frick, which occurred De- 
cember 26, 1888. May 16, 1891, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Frick and Miss Mary E. Kautz, 
daughter of Christian and Christina Kautz, 
also of Buffalo, Iowa, she being a cousin of 
Mr. Frick's first wife. To them three daugh- 
ters have been born, Marie J., Edith M. and 
Henrietta N. 

In political affiliation Mr. Frick is a Demo- 
crat. In the April election, 1907, he was 
chosen as alderman of the Fourth Ward upon 
the ticket of the Citizens' Non-Partisan Asso- 
ciation. The contest in election was not won 
without a struggle, as both the Republican 
and Democratic parties had placed strong men 
in nomination. Mr. Frick's popularity with 
men in both of the old parties was so clearly 
demonstrated by the election, that upon the 
sending in of the returns it was shown that he 
had been elected by a handsome majority 
over both opponents. The Fourth Ward, 
which Mr. Frick now represents as alderman, 
is the ward in which he was born, and in 
which his business has been located for many 
years. 

In religious conviction Mr. Frick is a con- 
sistent member of the German Catholic 
Church of Rock Island. Fraternally he is 
connected with the Elks, the Western Catho- 
lic Union and the Knights of Columbus. 

From what has already been said of the 
life of Mr. Frick, and from the personal knowl- 
edge which almost every one residing in Rock 
Island or vicinity has of the man, it is a fact 
beyond dispute that he is one of Rock Island's 
best citizens who is constantly working for 
the advancement of his native city. 



IGNATZ HUBER. 

THE City of Rock Island is indebted for 
its present prosperity and commercial 
activity to many men who.se capital and 
intellect have been instrumental in pro- 
moting its growth: Ijut one of the men to 
whom it is chieflj^ indebted for his activity 
in promoting those industries and measures 
which are the life of a city is Ignatz Huber, 
one of Rock Island's pioneer brewers and 
financiers. 

Mr. Huber is a native of Bavaria, Germany. 
He was born February 1, 1826. His boy- 
hood and youth were spent in his native 
Bavaria, and after his school days were fin- 
ished, learned the brewer's trade under the 
instruction of his father. Like many others 
of foreign birth who have emigrated to the 
United States, Mr. Huber saw in America a 
land of promise where individual ability 
counted for much more and brought much 
better returns than in the old world. He 
took passage for America on a sailing vessel 
leaving the Port of Rotterdam, and after a 
voyage of forty-two days on the ocean, ar- 
rived at New York on Jvme 16, 1849. Push- 
ing westward he stopped at Canton, Ohio, 
where he spent two months, and then re- 
moved to Columbus in the same state, where 
he found employment in a brewery. Leav- 
ing Columbus he went to Cincinnati, where 
he again followed that line of business in 
which he had received such thorough train- 
ing. Mr. Huber remained in Cincinnati imtil 
1851, when he came to Rock Island, which 
has ever since been his home. 

In Rock Island he again obtained employ- 
ment in a brewery, and after his first month's 
employment he purchased an interest in the 
concern, of which three years later he became 
the sole owner. From a small beginning Mr. 
Huber's business grew and his patronage 
increased until it became one of the city's 
principal industries, employing many men. 
He continued in business alone until the for- 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



43 



inatidn of the Rock Island Brewing Company, 
whereby Rock Island's three brewing plants 
were consolidated and a stock company or- 
ganized. Then Mr. Hnber turned over active 
management of the new enterprise to his son. 
Otto, pursuing the same course as his former 
competitor, George Wagner, who hud turned 
over the management of his part in the busi- 
ness to his son, Robert, the elders practically 
retiring and placing the responsibility of ac- 
tive management of this large concern upon 
the shoulders of the junior mcunbers of their 
respective households. 

Mr. Huber was married in Octol:>er, 1854, 
to Miss Catherine Koehler, a young lady of 
(ierman birth and rearing, but who had come 
to .\merica in her youth. To this couple liave 
l)een born si.\ children, three of whom have 
attained manhood and wonumhood and are 
li\ung at home with their i)arents, and three 
of whom died in early childhood. Those liv- 
ing are the Misses Amelia and Lillie Huber 
and Otto Hul)er. 

In religious faith Mr. Huber is a Catholic, 
while his wife is a member of the JAitheran 
denomination. In politics he is a Democrat, 
and although never an office-seeker, he was 
once elected alderman of his home ward, and 
proved so thoroughly acceptable to his con- 
stituents that he was twice re-elected to that 
office. From 1858 to 1861 he was captain of 
the Rock Island Rifle Company, a military 
organization formed here at that time. 

Mr. Huber has valuable real estate holdings 
in Rock Island, Moline and Geneseo, Illinois, 
and in Davenport, Iowa. He is also a stock 
holder in the Peoples' National Bank, and for 
many years was its vice president. In the 
spring of 1906 Mr. Huber purchased twenty- 
five acres of valuable land lying between Twen- 
ty-seventh and Thirtieth Streets, and be- 
ginning on Ninth Avenue extending to the 
l)luff in Rock Island. From the summit of 
this land a magnificent view of the entire City 
of Rock Island may be obtained. One-half 
of this land is to be plotted into lots which will 



be sold and the ntlier half Mr. Huber will 
retain for a home, where he will shortly erect 
a residence. In fact Mr. Huber has been a 
pioneer in the laying out and platting of addi- 
tions; the Huber and Peetz adilition. in which 
he was interested, being the real l)eginning 
of Rock Island's real estate boom. 

For all the years that Ignatz Huber has 
lived in Rock Island his life has been an open 
one. his every deed being actuated by honest 
motives. He has conscientiously endeavored 
to fulfill the duties that devolved upon him 
both in public and in private life, and how 
well he has succeeded is thoroughly demon- 
strated by the universal esteem in which he 
is held by his fellow citizens. 

'M 5S m 
OTTO HUBER, 

AMONG the younger generation of Rock 
Island's jirominent business men whose 
names are deserving of special mention 
for what they have achieved in their chosen 
vocations in life, stands that of Otto Huber, 
who is the present secretary and treasurer of 
the Rock Island lirewing Company, a Rock 
Island industry whose formation, growth and 
present scope, has been related elsewhere in 
this book. 

Mr. Huber was Ixirn in Rock Island January 
19, 1866, and attend(Hi schools in that city 
until he was ready to enter the Illinois State 
University at Champaign, where he spent 
three years. Afterward he studied two years 
abroad and graduated from the Institute of 
Technology at Weihenstephan, near Munich, 
Bavaria, which country had been the birth 
place of his father, Ignatz Huber. After 
completing his education he entered his fa- 
ther's business in 1889, but he was also a pro- 
moter of Ijrewing enterprises in other cities, 
notable among which is the organization of 
the Seattle Brewing A: Malting Company in 
1893. This was a consolidation of four of Seat- 
tle's brewing plants and was brought about 



44 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



by Otto Huber. The company today is the 
largest and most prominent brewing concern 
in the United States west of Milwaukee and 
St. Louis. He organized the Des Moines 
Brewing Company in 1907, of which he is the 
president. 

In 1893 when the Rock Island Brewing 
Company was formed, Mr. Huber was one of 
the chief promoters of that organization, and 
it was largely through his activity that the 
organization was brought into l)eing. Upon 
its formation he was elected secretary and 
treasurer of the new company, positions which 
has held ever since. 

In 1902 Mr. Huber was one of the organizers 
of the Illinois State Brewers' Association and 
was its first secretary. 

In 1903 Mr. Huber became vice president 
of the People's National Bank of Rock Island, 
succeeding his father in that office. In 1904 
he was appointed a member of the board of 
park commissioners in the City of Rock Island 
and it was this board that inaugurated the 
improvement of Long View Park, one of the 
most beautiful in the state. He is at present 
treasurer of the board. 

Mr. Huber is not allied with an political 
organization, but gives his support to those 
men and measiu'es that in his opinion repre- 
sent the best principles. 

He is a member of several social and fra- 
ternal organizations, among them being the 
Rock Island Club, the Davenport Commercial 
Club, Chicago Athletic Association, is a life 
member of the Rock Island Arsenal Golf 
Club, and is a member of the Elks. 

He is a man who is fond of all varities of 
clean athletic sports, being an enthusiastic 
equiestrian and golf player. 

Mr. Huber is unmarried. He takes an ac- 
tive and prominent part in the social life of 
the three cities and Chicago, his genial quali- 
ties and liberality making him a general fav- 
orite. Although a young man possessed of 
wealth and one who has received many ad- 
vantages he is unspoiled by prosperity and 



is of a very unassuming nature without the 
slightest trace of arrogance. Warm hearted 
and sympathetic he is ever ready to extend 
a helping hand to those less fortunate than 
himself and to devote his time and money to 
the upbuilding of his native city. 

m n i^ 
HON. ^X^1LLIAM McENIRY. 

tN considering the prominent legal 
I firms in Rock Island County one's mind 

instinctively turns to the firm of McEniry & 
McEniry, a firm composed of the two brothers, 
Hon. William McEniry and Matthew J. Mc- 
Eniry, having offices both in Rock Island and 
Moline. It is the life and character of the 
former of these two gentlemen that we pro- 
pose to depict in the sketch that is to follow. 
The life and character of Matthew J. McEniry 
will be found elsewhere in this work treated at 
length. 

William McEniry was born in Rock Island 
County, Illinois, Maj^ 9, 1860, his j)arents be- 
ing William and Elizabeth (Coughlin) Mc- 
Eniry. William McEniry, Sr., who was a 
farmer, came to Illinois in 1841 and settled in 
Moline, making his home there until 18.52, 
when he took up his residence on a farm in 
this county. In 1846 occurred his marriage 
to Miss Elizabeth Coughlin. To this couple 
eight children were born, six sons and two 
daughters. Two of the sons, however, died 
in infancy. The death of the father occurred 
February 18, 1874. His widow survived him 
until May 30, 1907, when she passed away. 
Both were devout members of the Roman 
Catholic Church. In a panegyric at the time 
of Mrs. McEniry's death one of the Moline 
daily newspapers spoke of her life as follows: 
"Mrs. McEniry was identified with the his- 
tory of Rock Island Count3^ She was the 
first Catholic woman to reside in what is now 
the City of Moline, and the first mass of the 
church ever said in that city, was celebrated 
in her house by a Davenport priest. She 
was a remarkable character in many ways. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND C U N T Y 



4 5 



Ilcr life was as calm and licutle as its close 
and yet it was active. She was uf linn faith 
and resolute purpose and courage." 

William McEniry, the son. whoso life we 
will now discuss, received his preliminary edu- 
cation in the puljlic schodjs of Kiick Island 
County. Later he ]iurs\ied a commercial 
course in Prairie du Chien. Wisconsin. Ujion 
the com]3letion of this he entered upon a lit- 
erary course in the University of Notre Dame, 
at Notre Dame, Indiana. Then he chose the 
profession of law as his life's vocation, and in 
order to fit himself for the practice of that 
science he entered the law department of the 
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in that 
state. Here he graduated in 18S.5. 

Soon after his graduation the young bar- 
rister opened a law office in Rock Island, ami 
his immediate success proved him tn he an 
able lawyer. He possesses a keen and ana- 
lytical mind, and a broad and comprehensive 
mental vision, enabling him to assimilate the 
correlation of ideas and to instinctively grasp 
the fundamental and basic elements of the 
subject imder consideration. Added to this 
he is a logical reasoner and an eloquent and 
forceful public speak(>r. These attributes 
and accomplishments are essential in a suc- 
cessful legal career, and by the pos.session of 
these superior qualities, which in themselves 
are marks of distinction, Mr. McKniry has 
attained an enviable station in his profession. 
He has served as counsel in some very im]ior- 
tant litigation that has attracted widespread 
interest. In legal ability he is one of the 
foremost lawyers in Western Illinois, and his 
superior merit has obtained the recognition 
that it deserves. 

Ever since entering u]ion the practice of 
law in Rock Island and taking up his residence 
here, Mr. McEniry has been constant and 
untiring in his endeavor to jaromote that 
city's best interests and has given his sup- 
port to all measures for the public benefit. 
He was actively instrumental in the work of se- 
curing a new court house and was also a 



p(jtent factor in determining the location of 
the Western Illinois Hospital for the Insane 
at Watertown, and was asked by Governor 
Altgekl to act as a member of the board, but 
declined. \\c secured the jiassage of the bill 
making ]3ossible to remo\-e the Woodmen 
office to Rock Island. 

On October 1,5, IS'.KI. Mr. McEniry was 
united in marriage to Miss Alice Cleary, a 
young lady of New Orleans, a daughter of 
Mr. and Mrs. John Cleary of that city. To 
them four children ha\-e lieen born, John, 
Elizabeth, William and Katherine. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. McEniry are members of the 
Roman Catholic Church. Their manv excel- 
lent qualities and bountiful hospitality have 
made them favorites in the l)est social circles 
of the Tri-Cities. 

In political faith Mr. McEniry has always 
l:)een a staunch Democrat, and he is one of the 
acknowledged leaciers of that party in Rock 
Island County. Although zealous in striving 
for the success of his ]iarty at the poles, Mr. 
McEniry has never been a letter or a narrow 
partizan, and as a leader in his party his con- 
duct of campaigns, although vigorous, has 
been such as to insure him the respect and 
friendly regard of his political opponents. 

In 1SS7 ilr. McEniry was nominated by 
his party, and was elected city attorney of 
Rock Island. He filled that office with abil- 
ity and distinction. In the autumn of 1896 
he was elected a member of the House of 
Representatives in the Illinois State Legis- 
lature, running far ahead of his party ticket. 
In this capacity he served upon several very 
important committees, and although his po- 
litical party was the minority party never- 
theless every one of the five bills introduced 
by Mr. McEniry passed both the House and 
the Senate, and became laws of the state. 
Of his ability as a legislator the Inter-Ocean, 
of Chicago, spoke in the highest terms of 
praise. 

No words of fulsome praise are necessary 
to embellish the life and character of W^illiam 



46 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



McEnirv. He is a patriotic citizen, a schol- 
arl_v and able lawyer and a Christian gentle- 
man. No higher encomium ran be bestowed 
upon any man. 

3S SS Si 

MATTHEW J. McENlRY. 

IT IS said that the legal profession is one of 
the most difficult in which to achieve suc- 
cess. It is doubtless true that to be a truly 
successful attorney requires ability of a high 
order. We have spoken elsewhere in this 
work of Ft he succe.ss achieved by the legal 
firm of McEniry & McEniry, and one of the 
fruits of that success is a renown that is not 
merely local but that has spread throughout 
the northwest. In the article mentioned the 
life and character of one of the members of the 
firm, William McEniry, was taken up and 
discussed at length. His strength and ability 
were depicted. The present article is to be 
devoted to a discussion of the salient points 
in the life of the other member of the firm, 
Matthew .1. McEniry, a man, who like his 
brother, is possessed of brilliant talents and 
real genius. 

He was born on a farm in Zuma Township, 
this county. The lives and characters of the 
elder McEnirys, the parents of Matthew J. 
and William, are recorded at length in the 
sketch previously spoken of, to which the 
reader is referred. As a lad Matthew J. 
McEniry received his early edvication in the 
country schools in the neighborhood of his 
father's farm. When seventeen years of age 
he went to an academy at Prairie du Chien, 
Wisconsin, where he completed a commercial 
course. He afterward entered the Univer- 
sity of Notre Dame, at Notre Dame, Indiana, 
where he devoted himself to scientific studies. 
These he completed in 1887, whereupon he 
entered the law department of the University 
of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which he 
graduated one year later. After his gradu- 
ation the young attorney was admitted to 



the bar and oj^ened a law office in Moline in 
partnership with his brother, William, of Rock 
Island. The firm has ever since retained 
offices in both Rock Island and Moline; Wil- 
liam McEniry having charge of the Rock 
Island office while Matthew ,J. conducted the 
business at Moline. The , e.xcollent success 
and enviable reputation which the firm has 
achieved are too well known to need repetition 
here. Sufficient is it to say that they are one 
of the foremost legal firms in Rock Island 
County. They possess commodious and well 
appointed offices and fine law libraries in both 
cities, the Moline office being located in the 
Skinner Block. 

In politics Matthew J. McEniry has always 
been one of Moline's leading Democrats, and 
has been ever zealous in promoting the suc- 
cess of the political party of his choice. That 
party has recognized his services and has hon- 
ored him with offices of responsibility and 
trust. In 1884, when only twenty-three 
years of age, Mr. McEniry was elected super- 
visor of Zuma Township, and held that office 
for one term. He was also appointed deputy 
sheriff of Rock Island County, which office he 
filled for four years. In July, 1894, he re- 
ceived from President Cleveland the apjioint- 
ment as postmaster of Moline, and continued 
in that office until October 1, 1897. His poli- 
tical zeal and active work for party success 
has been many times shown while a delegate 
to his party's conventions, he having been a 
delegate to nearly every Democratic State 
Convention since 1882. He is a firm believer 
in the great principles of Thomas Jefferson, 
and is firmly convinced that the best inter- 
ests of this country would be best subserved 
by a strict adherence to its tenets. 

Mr. McEniry was of assistance in obtaining 
the passage of the law providing for the organ- 
ization and establishment of the naval militia 
in Illinois. He was elected and served as an 
ensign in the Moline Company of the same 
until 1897, when from political reasons, as he 




JOHN' A uovi-:!; 




MRS. JOHN A. BUYER 



// / -S r R I C R C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



47 



liiniself states, he was politely requested to 
resign or the division would be mustered out 
of the service then and tliere. There were at 
that time two divisions ol' naval reser\-es. 
and in fact there were formerly four divisions 
located at Moline, a city that was very acti^•e 
in aid of this hranch of the stale service, and 
who took prid(> in educating her citizens in the 
ways of naval warfare upon the great "Fath- 
er of Waters." Mr. McKniry was also a 
director of the Moline Pul)lic I,il)rary at thc> 
time the new Carnegie building was erected, 
and served as secretary of tlie board for two 
years. 

Matthew J. McKniry is a devoted member 
of the Ivoman Catholic Church, the church in 
which be was born and reared. He was con- 
firmed at an early age liy Archbishop Foley, 
of Chicago. 

Fraternally Mr. McP^niry is strongly con- 
nected, and his genial, helpfid nature nud<es 
him a most acceptable mend)er of many orders. 
He has passed through, the presiding chair of 
the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 
3S, of Moline. He is also a memlier of the 
North Star Benefit Association, of which he 
is county astronomer, of Observatorj- No. 1. 
He is a charter mendjer of the lodge of Fra- 
ternal Tribunes organized at Moline. He is 
also a member of Tecumseh Tribe, No. 24, 
Improved Order of Redmen, and has repre- 
sented all these lodges at tlieir great councils. 
He is now chairman of the judiciary commit- 
tee of the Great Council of Illinois, Indepen- 
dent Order Redmen. He has been a meml)er 
of the Moline Club since it was organized, and 
served two terms as a director of that insti- 
tution. He is now serving a second term as 
president of the Moline Business Men's Asso- 
ciation, and has at all times taken an active 
part in the business affairs of his home city. 
Mr. McEniry, together with his brother, 
William, did loyal work in helping to secure 
the location of the Western Hospital for the 
Insane at Watcrtown, and through their un- 
tiring efforts in that behalf much was ac- 



complished. Matthew .1. McEniry has also 
done most effect i\e work in heljjing obtain 
the new lock upon the Mississippi River at 
Moline. and in this also he has been untiring. 
The lock and liarl)or aiiiirojiriation will make 
Moline a poi'i upon the Mississippi River. 
These efforts, which are all uns(^lfish and look 
only to the betterment and increased pros- 
perity of his liome city, are indicative of Mr. 
McEniry's character. We is an enthusiast 
for the six-foot channel along the Upper 
Mississi])pi, aiul is l)ending e\'ery effort to 
make it a reality. 

l'"or twelve years Mr. Mcl'^niry has been a 
member of the Rock Island County Old Set- 
tlers' Association. 

Matthew J. McEniry is a man of deep and 
broad public spirit, a leader and organizer of 
men, and a citizen whose constant aim is to 
see his city press forward in prosperity and 
success. He is a man who has done much 
for the comuuuiity in which he lives, and this 
is attested by the warm regard and high es- 
teem in which he is held by all who know him. 
As a citizen, loyal to tlie enduring ]irinci]3les 
struck from the highest ideals, Mr. McEniry 
is su])erior. 



DEACON JOHN A. BOYER. 

A MAN remcml)ered only by the older 
generation of Rock Island County's citi- 
zens was Deacon ,Iohn A Boyer, deceased. 

He was l)orn at Bedford, Pennsylvania, 
October 16, 1809. During a portion of his 
boyhood his parents lived at Paris, Kentucky, 
and later removed to Indiana. 

In 1S37 he came to this county and settled 
in what was then the town of Stephenson. In 
183S Mr. Boyer was united in marriage to Mrs. 
Zeruiah Phillips, whose maiden name was 
Zeruiah Robbins. The following year Mr. 
and Mrs. Boyer moved to the farm at the 
south end of what is now Thirtieth Street, 
which was tlieir home at the time of Mrs. 



48 



// / S r R 1 C ROC K ISLAND CO U N T Y 



Boyer's death, which orcurrod March 16. 
1886; closing a long and happy married life of 
forty-eight years. No children blessed this 
marriage, but after some years of married 
life they took Thomas Campbell into the fam- 
ily and reared him to manhood. He and his 
family were beneficiaries from the estates. 
Mr. Campljcll lived forty years of Mr. Boyer's 
life with him and was as son to the family in 
every sense of the word. 

In religious faith Mr. Boyer and his devoted 
wife were Bapti.st.s, and their fidelity to the 
cause of their church and zeal in the cause of 
religion are demonstrated l)y the following 
minutes taken from the records of the Bap- 
tist Church of this city, under date of March 
20, 1843: "Church called a session which 
lasted several days, lirethren from this 
church and our sister church in Davenport 
sat as a church and received the following 
persons — ." (Then follows .the names of 
three received by letter and nine for baptism. 
Among the latter are the names of John A. 
and Zeruiah Boyer.) They were buried in 
baptism in the Mississippi River, at the foot 
of what is now Twentieth Street, Rock Island. 
Brother Boyer and his wife at once took 
an active part in the work of the church. 
January 21, 1845, forty-seven years ago, he 
was elected deacon, and, according to the 
custom of that time, was ordained to that 
office by the imposition of hands upon the 
sixteenth of the following February, the or- 
daining prayer being made by Elder Stone- 
About two years previous to that time he had 
been elected as a trustee, and he held both of 
these offices in the church continuously until 
his death. For more than thirty years he 
was among the most active workers in the 
church, none excelling him in cheerfully tak- 
ing up and bearing the burdens of the work. 
He was on nearly all the church committees, 
frequently being the chairman of those on 
which he was placed. At times he acted as 
church sexton, making the fires, caring for the 
church building and its contents without mon- 



ey and without price, but simply because of his 
love for his church home, and found no task 
too hard or work too irksome when the 
church's welfare was furthered thereby. 
When debts burdened the church, and seemed 
likely to crush it beneath their weight, he 
either paid them in full himself, or else paid 
such proportion that the load was lightened 
and others could complete the payment. 

To John A. Boyer and his faithful wife, the 
First Baptist Church of Rock Island is largely 
indebted for its present fine property, its 
house of worship and parsonage, the tower of 
the church building being entirely his gift, as 
was the parsonage a gift from his wife. Dur- 
ing J\lr. Boyer's latter years the infirmities of 
age compelled him to take a less active part 
in the work of the church, but his interest 
nevei flagged. His fellow church members 
feel that to Brother and Sister Boyer, and to 
their noble co-worker. Deacon David Hawes, 
their church, under God, owes a debt of last- 
ing gratitude. 

In politics Mr. Boyer was a Republican 
until the time of Horace Greeley's nomination 
for President of the United States, but from 
that time on he was a Democrat. He lived 
a quiet and retiring life, taking little personal 
part in politics and public affairs, although 
in these matters he always manifested a keen 
interest. He was deputy sheriff for two j'ears 
under Sheriff Wells, and at one time was a 
member of the board of supervisors. 

He had been for many years an honored 
member of the Masonic fraternity and of the 
Old Settlers' Association, at one time being 
president of the latter organization. 

On Deceml)er .5, 1891, at the ripe old age of 
eighty-two years, John A. Boyer passed away 
at Los Angeles, California. He survived 
most of the companions of his youth and mid- 
dle life, but having traveled far along life's 
pathway the burden of his many years fell 
from his shoulders, and he lay down to sleep 
in the silent chamber of Death, but being 
dead he vet liveth. 



HISTORIC RO C K I S L A N I) C U N T Y 



49 



SAnUEL H. MONTGOMERY. 

AMONG the names of Rock Island County's 
citizens none is hetter known and none 
held in more honor and respect than that 
of Montgomery. The elder Montgomerys were 
among the oldest settlers of this county, and 
early acqvured large holdings in farm proper- 
ties. Their children have been prominently 
identified with the business and farming inter- 
ests of Rock Island County for more than a 
quarter of a century. It is of one of the sons 
of those pioneers, Alexander E. and Margaret 
Montgomery, the life history of tlie former 
appearing upon another page of this work, 
that this sketch is to treat. 

Samuel H. Montgomery was born on a 
farm near Coal Valley in Rock Island County 
August 2, 1866, his parents, as has been stated, 
being Alexander E. and Margaret Montgom- 
ery. His early l.)oyho<)(l was s])ent u]K)n his 
father's farm, and later hwd on the Arsenal 
Island for twenty years until married. He 
attended the public schools of Moline, and 
later entered and graduated from the high 
school of that city. After completing his 
studies he decided to master the machinists' 
trade and to that end he secured a position 
in the machine shops at the Rock Island Ar- 
senal. After serving his apprenticeship he 
continued to work at the Arsenal and later at 
Williams, White A: Company in Moline until 
the sunimer of 1891, when with his brothers, 
Alexander E. Jr., James T. anil Roliert J. Mon- 
gomery, the firm of Montgomery Brothers 
was organized for the purpose of doing a gen- 
eral machine and repair business. In March, 
1893, the above firm was merged with the Mo- 
line Elevator Company, and a few months 
later the Montgomery Brothers bought out 
the other interests in the Elevator Company 
and have since that time been the principal 
owners and managers. To Mr. Samuel H. 
Montgomery was assigned the direction of 
the manufacturing department of this manu- 
factory, and he is at the present time presi- 



dent and general superintendent of this indus- 
try which has become a large and prosperous 
one. He is also a stock holder in the Deere- 
Clark ]\h)tor Car Company, the Moline Auto- 
mol)ile Company, Root it Van Dervoort En- 
gineering Conip.any, the .American Harvester 
Company and the Columliia Voting Machine 
Company. He also has extensive farm inter- 
ests in Alberta, Canada. 

On April 19, 1S98, Mr. .Montgomery married. 
Miss Emma M. Ilartz, a Rock Island young 
lady, the sister of B. C., W. T., A. P. and G. 
C. Hartz. They have one child, a daughter, 
iMargaret Dorothy, wlio at the time this 
sketch was written is about three years of age. 
Since their marriage .Mr. and ^Irs. ilontgom- 
ery have made their homo in Moline, residing 
at 1542 Eleventh .-Kvenue, in that city. 

Mr. Montgomery's life has been governed 
by Christian princijilos, and he has been ac- 
tive in religious work. He is a consistent 
meml.ier of thc^ United Presbyterian Church, 
which he joined in Rock Island, March 17, 
1S83. Seven years later in November, 1890, 
he was elected and ordained ruling elder in 
the church with whicli he was affiliated, and 
he servetl as clerk of session until May, 1898. 
He also assisted in establishing a mission 
church in Moline, which work had been under- 
taken l)y the Rock Island congregation in 
1895, ilr. Montgomery serving as its Moline 
representative and Sunday School superin- 
tendent. In May, 1898, together with sever- 
al others of the same religious faith, he was 
one of the organizers of the First United 
Presljyterian Church of Moline. This was 
the full fruition of the hopes and prayers and 
work of those zealous Christians who had es- 
tablished and fostered the little mission 
church. Upon the establishment of an inde- 
pendent church organization Mr. Montgomery 
was elected ruling elder and clerk of session, 
and also suiierintendent of the Sunday School, 
which positions he has held continuously ever 
since. In politics he is a Republican and 
takes a strong interest in the success of the 



50 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



party of his choice. He has not been much 
identified with an>' lodge or fraternal organ- 
izations. 

Mr. Montgomery is an ideal type of the 
simple, sincere Christian gentleman, a man 
of exalted thoughts and generous acts, and 
having himself enjoyed material prosperity 
he has been ever ready to help his less for- 
tunate fellow man whenever that help was 
needed and deserved. 

fC p. {K 

ELWIN ELBERT PARMENTER. 

THE life of a good and just man, and the 
memory of his noble, kindly deeds, are 
in themselves his tru(> biography. In 
the life of such an individual the observer of 
human character may find both precept and 
example. He may find in such a life ser- 
mons that speak more eloquently and leave 
a deeper impression upon the heart than any 
human words. The simple goodness and un- 
conscious influence of such a man is a bene- 
diction to all with whom he comes in daily 
contact. Such were the attributes of tlie 
late Judge Elwin E. Parmenter, a man highly 
esteemed and greatly beloved by all who 
knew him, a man of high integrity and broad 
charity, a man whose motto \\as the Golden 
Rule. 

He was born on a farm in Andalusia Town- 
ship, Rock Island County, June 24, 1843, his 
parents being Lorenzo and Kezia Parmenter, 
one of the early families who settled in this 
county. He received his early education in 
the public schools of Muscatine, and here he 
fitted himself for entrance to the University 
of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he gradu- 
ated from the law department. A short time 
after his graduation he entered upon the 
practice of his profession at Rock Island, 
which city was his home until his death. In 
1872 he was elected state's attorney for Rock 
Island County, and held this office for three 
continuous terms of four years each, his 
third term ending in 1884, His administra- 



tion of that office was forceful, vigorous and 
successful, distinguished not only by the en- 
ergy and ability of his prosecutions, but also 
by the careful and painstaking manner in 
which he prepared his cases for trial. As an 
example of this latter part of his duty, it may 
be stated that not once during his long tenure 
of office did he ever have an indictment 
rpmshed because of error or carelessness in its 
preparation. During his career as state's 
attorney he prosecuted one of the most noted 
criminal cases in the annals of Rock Island's 
court history, the famous Heilwagner murder 
trial, he being assisted in the prosecution by 
the Hon. William Jackson. The result was 
a conviction with the imposition of the death 
penalty. The accused was ably defended by 
the Hon. Patrick O'Mara, deceased, and J. L. 
Haas. The sentence of the court was carried 
out, it being the last execution in Rock Island 
County. 

After his retirement from the office of 
state's attorney. Judge Parmenter returned to 
the general practice of law, and in this he was 
engaged until 1884, when he was appointed 
master in chancery by Judge William H, 
Gest, and this office he held for six years. In 
1902 he was elected county judge, and after 
the expiration of his first term of four years, 
he was again re-elected in November, 1906, 
and served until his sudden and untimely 
death a few months later. His administra- 
tion of this last office, which involves the 
supervision of the administration of a large 
number of estates, besides various other 
matters, was conducted in the same carefid, 
systematic manner that had marked his ca- 
reer as state's attorney. 

On October ?>, 1872, he was joined in mar- 
riage to Miss Anna B. Oloff, and to them one 
child, a son, was born, who died at the early 
age of five years. 

Judge Parmenter was a zealous, earnest 
Christian man, and although in his early man- 
liood he was not affiliated with any chm'ch 
organization, on i\Iarch 20, 1892, he was ad- 




L. .S. McCABE. 



HISTORIC ROCK I S L A N D C U V T Y 



51 



mitted into full nieinl)(>rslii[) with the First 
Methodist Episcopal Church of liock Island, 
and of this church he was a consistent mem- 
ber throughout the remainder of his life, and 
served as one of its trustees. 

He was a member of Trio T.od,i;e, No. .57. 
Ancient Free and Aecef)ted Masons; Rock 
Island Chapter, No. IS. Royal .\rch Masons: 
Rock Island Commandry, No. IS. Knights 
Templar, and of Kabba Temple of the Mystic 
Shrine. He held varicnis honorary offices in 
the different degrees of Masonry, where he 
was held, as he was everywhere, in the highest 
regard and esteem. 

Upon December '21. lOOO. occurred the 
sudden passing of Judge Parmenter from the 
vigor of life to the coldness of death. He liad 
returned home from his .iiidicial duties feeling 
somewhat ill. In a few hricf hours lie died, 
having sustained an attack of heart failure. 
The news of his demise caused the most pro- 
found stirrow throu.ghout the entire county 
in all ])arts oi which he was so well known. 
At first it seemed impossible to give the re- 
port credence, but when sad coidirniation 
left no doubt as to its truth, mingled with tlie 
expressions of sorrow and the sense of iier- 
sonal loss to all who knew him, there was the 
thought that a g'()od man had gone to his 
reward. No word of eulogy can add any 
lustre to the memory of ,Iudge I'arnienter, 
He did right as it was gi\-en unto hini to see 
the right. He was faithful in all of life's 
duties. He did vmto others as lu^ desired 
others to do unto him, and in his simj.ile, 
earnest Christian life he followed the " Kindly 
Light" until at last it led liim Home. 

SS % 'its 

L S. ricCABE. 

LS. McCABE has been a factor in the com- 
mercial history of Rock Island County 
since 186S. He is a native of Delaware 
County, New York, and was educated in the 
common schools and academies of that local- 
itv. 



Coming wesi in his young manhood. Mr 
McCalie took up his residence in Rock I-^Iand 
County, lie taught school for two terms in 
the soiitlu'i-ii p.'UM of this county during the 
time that the lion. W. H. Gest, the present 
circuit .judge, was county superintendent 
(jf schools. 

In 1S7() his business career as a Rock Island 
merchant was b(\gun, and his steadily in- 
creasing business has been co-incident with 
the growth and prosperity of the city. He 
possessed .-i firm bc-lief that both Rock Island 
and Moline had bright futures before them, 
and later his real estate \-entiH'es resulted in 
the i>latting of se\-eral large residence addi- 
tions in fiotli those cities, ami in these he was 
either the princip;d associate or sole owner. 
He consistently showed his confidence in t he 
future (le\'elopnient of this locality by re- 
peated in\'estments in the business district 
of th(> city, until he liecame the owner of the 
largest area of business pro].)erty in the ('oni- 
niercial center of Rock Island. His active 
brain has been itdluential in organizing and 
developinir man\' of the prominent and suc- 
cessful industrii'S and business enterprises of 
the coimty. He was a director and vice- 
president of tlu' Moline Central Street Car 
Lines when they were being built and equip- 
ped with electricity. This was one of the first 
electric street railways l)uilt and operated in 
the west. He was also an owner and pro- 
moter of Prosi)eet Park in Moline, and later 
when his traction .and pai'k holdings were ab- 
sorbed by the newly formed Tri-City Street 
Railway Company, he became a large stock 
holder in the latter company. 

Mr. McCabe was one of the promoters' and 
organizers of the Central Loan and Trtist 
Company of Rock Island, and upon its for- 
mation b(vame a director and its first \-ice- 
president. 

In 1902 he was elected by the Republican 
party to represent the Thirty-third District 
in the State Senate, and after serving his 
term of foiu' years, he declined to again be- 



52 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



come a candidate for that office, as his busi- 
riess interests demanded so much of his per- 
sonal attention. He had always been an 
adherent to Republican principles, but the 
office of State Senator was the only one for 
which he had ever been a candidate. 

Mr. McCabe is a member of the Broadway 
Presbyterian Church. He is a charter mem- 
ber of the Rock Island Club, but has never 
been much identified with fraternal societies 
or lodges. Being for thirty-six years at the 
head of one of Rock Island's principal mer- 
cantile institutions, his sympathies, advice 
and aid were much sought and invariably 
given to every important public undertaking 
for niunicijial improvement. 

As a diversion and pleasant relaxation from 
the cares nnturally devolving upon the head 
of a great mercantile house, My. McCabe has 
become an extensive farmer and breeder of 
blooded beef cattle and swine. He owns 
and operates several farms both in this coun- 
ty and in Scott County, Iowa, and among his 
chief pleasures are the entertaining of friends 
at his summer home on the bluffs overlooking 
the Mississippi, the showing of his great herds 
of Angus cattle, and the discussion of his 
various farming projects and in planning 
their improvement and development. 

Ks gl iSs 

COLONEL EDWARD KITTILSEN. 

THE soldier-sheriff of Rock Island ( 'oimty 
needs no introduction to that county's 
people. That he is well and favorably 
known is evidenced by the office with which 
they have honored him. and which he now 
holds and fills so acceptably. 

Edward KittiLsen was born in Moline, July 
19, 1854, his parents being .\ndrew and Fred- 
erika (Johnson) Kittilsen. His father was 
a native of Norway and his mother of Sweden. 
Their son received a public school education 
in Moline, and upon its completion he entered 
the business college conducted bj^ Mr. Frey in 
Rock Island. After pursuing a commercial 



course in this institution he served as clerk 
in a grocery store for a time, and later learned 
the molder's trade. At twenty years of age 
he engaged in the ice business, and in that 
enterprise he was prosperous and sviccessful 
until the spring of 1880, when his winter's 
harvest of ice, and his ice house as well, were 
destroyed by the overflowing of the Mississ- 
ippi, bringing to him a severe loss. In that 
same year he was appointed upon the Moline 
police force, and two years later rose to the 
rank of deputy marshal, and in 1883 was 
appointed chief of police, which office he held 
continuously for more than twenty-three 
years, or until he resigned to assume the 
office of sheriff of Rock Island County to 
which he was elected in November. 1906. 

But Mr. Kittilsen has achieved military as 
well as civil honors. He joined the Illinois 
State Militia in 1875 and was elected a cor- 
])ornl of his company, later advancing to the 
rank of first sergeant. Sul)sequently he 
became sergeant-major of the Fourteenth 
Battalion, and after the consolidation of that 
battalion with the Sixth Regiment he con- 
tinued to hold that same rank. On April 29, 
1886, he was advanced to the office of major, 
and in 1893 was commissioned lieutenant- 
colonel of the Sixth Regiment, Colonel D. 
Jack Foster being first in command. He 
held that office for ten years, and on August 
13, 1903, was commissioned colonel of that 
regiment, succeeding Colonel Foster, and 
which rank he still holds. 

In 1898 Mr. Kittilsen was prominently 
mentioned as a possible candidate for the 
office of sheriff of Rock Island County, and 
there is no doubt but that he would have been 
nominated and elected to that office at that 
time, but it was then that the call to arms 
came to the Sixth Regiment to take its stand 
and enact its part in the defense of the 
United States in the war with Spain that was 
then upon us. In Colonel Kittilsen's mind 
there was no doubt as to where his duty lay, 
and there was no hesitancy upon his part 




COLONEL KUWAHIJ KITTILSEX. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



53 



in following that clearly indicated path of 
duty which ho saw before him. His duty 
was with his retiinient, and no matter wliat 
self sacrifice upon his p;irt it miKht invoKc he 
proposed to stay with liis regiment anil to 
share with it whatever mi<ilit he its destiny 
in the war with the foreign power that liad 
lieen forced upon \is. And so, without an 
instant's faltering, he laid aside an attracli\(' 
and remiinerat i\-e ci\'il oIKce that was easily 
within his gi'asp had he hut stretched forth 
his lianil. anil, luruing his hack u]ion that 
hriglit political future that seemed just aliout 
t(j open for him, he marched resoluteU' awav 
with his regiment to f.ace wh:i1e\'er d.'ingers 
it might he called upon to enconntei'. The 
unselfishness and ])ati'iniism of that act 
jiroved the nuiu a hero, and it is well that the 
]ieople of liock Ishinil County did not foi-gel 
that luiselfishness or that heroism, 

A short review of the movements of the 
Sixth liegiment during that lirief lint deci- 
sive conHict shows that altliough but limited 
op])ort unity was given to the Sixth to dis- 
tinguish itself in acti\'e service, yet when the 
men were under fire at the battle of Guanica 
in Porto Rico they displayed such steadiness 
and hra\'ery as to he worthy of most honorable 
mention. 

On April 28, 1S<)S, the Sixth liegiment went 
to Springfield, Illinois, each individual com- 
pany going directly to that place from its own 
home city. On April llth of that same year 
they were mustered into the United States 
vohuiteer service, and together with other 
regiments they departed for ("am)i Alger, a 
receiving campi in Virginia, near the ("ity of 
Washington. They remained in Camp Alger, 
where other regiments from different states 
were constantly being received, and here 
the Sixth remained until the 5th of July, 
when they were ordered to Charleston, South 
Carolina, to take transports for Cuba. The 
expected transports were somewhat delayed, 
and it was not until July 10th that the Sixth 
finally embarked. The Sixth and Seventh were 



the only Illinois regiments sent to Camp Alger, 
and the Sixth was one of the first to arrive 
at Cuba. r])on their arriv.al at that island 
they were under onle'rs to await the surrender 
of Santiago, which wastln'n lieing successfully 
besieged, and wliile awaiting that city's sur- 
rendei- the transports lay in Sibony Bay. 
When Santi:ii;o fell it ci'iished the power of 
Sp;iin in the Island of ( 'nba, and the services of 
the waiting regim<Mits wi-vr not nix'tled there. 
I hit as ( leneral .Miles was forming an expedition 
to in\cst I'oi-io Rico, the Sixth, together with 
othei' regimeids, was joined to his command, 
proceeding to PoiMo Ricii on the trans]iorts 
that li.ad brought lliem to Cuba. They were 
to laud at Ciuanica. a small fortified town 
which the Spaniards were hokling and where 
they had stationed a consideralile force of 
cavalry and infantry. A I'nited States gun- 
boat advanced and covered the landing of the 
troops by a sharp bombardment (.)f the town, 
the Spanish force retreating to the nearby 
mountains. An ext(uisive tucket line was 
thrown out about the troops landed, and as 
nightfall approacheil the Spaniards, finiling 
that their Mauser rifies jiossessed greater 
range than the antiquated Springfield rifles 
with which the \'olunteers were armed, be- 
gan an intermittent, but galling fire. At 
last, growing more bold, they made a charge 
and came swarming down from the mountain 
sides. The Sixth K<>giment, with the exception 
of a few companies had Ijoen assigned to picket 
duty, and as the Spauiiu'ds came down their 
progress was intcrc(>pted by a hill which was 
held by Comjiany (i, of Dixon, Illinois. Their 
advance was stopped by the fire of this com- 
pany, who succeeded in doing considerable 
execution among the Dons. This was the 
only battle in which the Sixth Regiment par- 
ticipated, the treaty of Paris bringing the 
war to a close soon afterward. From Porto 
Rico the Sixth embarked for the iu)rth upon 
the transport Manitoba, leaving tlie port of 
Ponce. After an uneventful voyage of a 
few days they arrived at Weehawken, off 



54 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



New York, and from there they took train 
directly to Springfield where thej' remained 
until they had turned in their arms and 
equipment, then beting given a furlough of 
sixty days. Upon the expiration of their 
furlough tln^ companies of the Sixth again 
returned to Springfield, remaining there until 
their mustering out. which occurred on Nov- 
ember 25, 1898. This ended Cokmel Ivit til- 
sen's career as an officer in the United States 
volunteer service, and unless occasion should 
again arise to demand his rettu'n to that ser- 
vice, lie will doubtl(>ss devote the remainder 
of his life to the gentle arts of peace. 

(Jn tlie 17th of September. 1884, in Moline, 
occvu'red the marriage of i\Tr. Kittilsen and 
Miss Corilla Stewart, who had been born and 
reared in Hamilton. Canada. Five children 
ha\'e been born to them, M^'rt le L., Arthur E 
William W., John A. and Helen Shiloli. all 
of whom are now at home. 

Mr. Kittilsen luis always been a loyal Re- 
publican. He is a member of Doric Lodge, 
No. 319, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; 
Moline J^odge, No. 133 Independent Oi-der of 
Odd Fellows; the Knights of Pythias, the 
Modern Woodmen of America and the Select 
Knights of America. Although not affiliated 
with any church himself, his wife is a member 
of the Baptist Church at Moline, and to this 
church ^Ir. Kittilsen gi\'es his support. 

Although he has. at the time of the writing 
of this sketch, held the office of sheriff of 
Rock Island County scarcely more than a 
month, he has even in that brief time demon- 
strated his capability and efiiciency as an in- 
cumbent of tluit office, just as he did for twen- 
ty-three years as chief of police, and just as 
he did as cohmel of the Sixth Regiment. He 
is courteous, considerate and obliging. It is 
certain that he will be one of the best and 
most popular sheriffs the coimty has ever 
had, and when his four years incumbency is 
at an end he will U-axc the ofl^ice with hosts 
upon hosts of friends in addition to those he 
already has at the present time. The high- 



est compliment that can be paid to Edward 
Kittilsen is the general opinion among all who 
know him that he is a man who does his duty 
as he sees it, and that he is upright, fearless 
and absolutely sincere. 

Jg iS 5i 

GEORGE WAGNER. 

A MAN whose jierseverance, industry and 
business sagacity has been largely in- 
strumental in the establishment of one 
of Rock Island's largest industries was George 
Wagner, one of the founders of the Rock 
Island Brewing Company, a man in whom 
those potential elements that are essential in 
ever}' successful career, seemed to center. 

George Wagner was born in Wurtemberg, 
Germany, January 13, 1832. He died Janu- 
ary 10, 1907, in Rock Island. In his boy- 
hood he attended the common schools of his 
native land, and there accpiired a fair educa- 
tion. After leaving school he was appren- 
ticed to a Ijaker, and in this apprenticeship 
he remained several years learning his trade. 

In 1S,')3 Mr. Wagner, realizing that in Amer- 
ica a young man willing and able to work could 
achieve more than he could possibly hope to 
in the older countries, left Germany and came 
to the United States, locating in New York. 
After working at his trade for two years in 
that city, he, together with a cousin, came 
west, settling in Rock Island. Here the two 
embarked in the bakery business, which they 
carried on for two years, at the end of which 
time Mr. Wagner sold out his interest to his 
cousin who continued in the business. Mr. 
Wagner moved to Moline, where he again 
established a bakery, continuing in business 
for eight years. During these years he was 
successful, so successful in fact that he felt 
justified in establishing a steam cracker bak- 
ery, the first in this part of the country. This 
venture also proved a successful one and 
brought to him substantial returns. 

In 1865, having prospered in whatever he 
had thus far undertaken, Mr. Wagner decided 



HISTORIC ROCK I S L A N I) COUNT Y 



55 



to rolnrii 1(i liis iKiti\-i' Iniul, and with that end 
in \\vw he sdhl' (iiii liis i)ii.siness interests in 
MoHno. He chaiiiicd his plans, however, 
and looivins; ahout fur sunie new ti"ld fur his 
activities he ]nir('lias<'<l a small hrcwei'v in 
Rock Island, ownccl by Mr. Sc'lunidt. This 
hiisiness, small in its inccpi inn, had a eontin- 
UDUs and steady firnwih until it lieeanie one o'' 
tlie most extensi\-e in Illinois. As Mr. Wag- 
ner's patronajie increased he enlarged his 
plant and ke])t abreast of the times Ijy adding 
modern facilities and iMpiipmcnl . For thirty 
years he labored in building up and enlarging 
the scope of his |)lanl, >mtil the forniinu of the 
jiresent Rock Island Brewing Company, and 
amalgamation of the brewing plants of Mr. 
\\'agner, Ignalz Hiiber and Raible iV Stengel. 
.Mr. Wagner's son, l-iolx-rt, was elected presi- 
dent of this newly formed stock company and 
Otto Huber, a son of Mr. Ignatz liiiber, wliose 
brewery the new com])any had taken over, 
became secretary, the younger men thus as- 
suming the more acti'V'e management of the 
new enterprise. 

In 1858, the same year that he left the 
fatherland for America, Mr. Wagner was 
married to Miss Frederica Epinger, a young 
lady of his native City of W'lirtemberg. To- 
gether they sevei'eil the ties that bound 
them to their homeland, and bra\'ely set out 
to face the hardsliips and |)ri\-atioiis that they 
knew they must encounlei- in a new country. 
Six children were born of tins marriage, thri'e 
of whom are living, they being Robert, who 
as has been stated, is the president of the 
Rock Island Brewing Com])any, and who 
resides in Rock Island; iM'nest, one of the 
leading business men of St. Paul, Minnesota; 
and George, formerly a real estate dealer in 
Rock Island. Mr. Wagner was for years a 
member of the Democratic i)arty, but in 1890, 
when silver was tlie paranuuint issue of that 
jiarty, he voted for William McKinley, as he 
believed in the maintenance of the gold stand- 
ard. He was a member of the Odd I'ellows 
and also of the Druids. 



l"or fifty years Cieorge Wagner had been a 
citi/.en of Rock Island. He was one of those 
who belie\-ed in the future of the city he had 
chosen for his home, and by his active and 
progressive s])irit did much to promote its 
industrial growth. He was iie\-er actuated 
liy any narrow, selfish motives, but prosper- 
ing himself lie rejoiced in the prosperity of 
others, knowing that the welf.are of one indi- 
\idual alone ne\'er fin t hers b.ut only retards 
the iifow'th of a communit)-. He was upright 
and lionoi-.able in all his dealings with his fel- 
low-men and won and mei'ited the esteem of 
all who knew him. In his old age lie li\'ed a 
life of com]iarati\-e retirement enjoying the 
warm i-egard of many, who, knowing him as 
he was, found him to be jiossessed of those 
(|ualiti(.'s that go to ni-ake up a good citizen 
•and an hoiioi-able man. 

*ti iS i£ 

ROBERT WAGNER. 

ONI'] of Rock Island's nati\"e sons, a man 
upon whom devoh'es to a large extent 
tlie mana.gement and control of a great 
and growing industry, is the sul)ject of this 
sketch, Robert Wagner, president of the Rock 
Island Brewing Company. 

He is the son of (leorge Wagner, the story 
of whose life and rise in the world appears 
elsewhere in this l)ook, and Frech-rica Wag- 
ner. He was liorn in Rock Island, June 15, 
18G(J. During his Ijoyhood he attended the 
city's pulilic schools and private CJerman 
schools, fitting himself for entrance in the 
University of Iowa., at Iowa City. After 
attending this institution, he entered the 
Ihiited States Brewers' Academy, in New 
York City, where he perfected himself in 
tlie art of lirewing and graduated in 1887, thus 
fitting himself to lake cliarge of and'continue 
the brewing industry which his fatherhad build 
up. Having accpiired a thorough theoretical 
knowli'dge of the stiliject, he returned to Rock 
Island, and being desirous of a practical work- 
ing knowledge as well, he entered his father's 



56 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



brewery as foreman. He continued in this 
position for two years, mastering every detail 
of the business, and then entered into the 
business with his father, where he remained 
until the formation of the Rock Island Brew- 
ing Company, a merger of the brewing indus- 
tries of the city. He was elected president 
of this new stock company, and has held that 
office ever since. The constant expansion of 
tlie business of which he is at the head is 
largely due to his progre.ssive ideas and able 
management. 

Mr. Wagner was married on November 1.5, 
1S94, to Miss Thekla I. Klug, a Davenport 
young lady, whose father. Otto Klug, was a 
leading business man of that city and who 
has now retired. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner occu- 
py a delightful home on Twenty-third Street 
in Rock Island, their new residence being one 
of the handsomest in the city. Here in their 
charming home they do a great deal of enter- 
taining and take a leading part in the social 
events of the Tri-Cities. 

In politics Mr. Wagner is a Democrat, cm- 
bracing the political allegiance of his father. 
He has, however, never sought office him- 
self. He is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias, and is a director of the Peoples Na- 
tional Bank of Rock Island, in which both he 
and his father own a large amount of stock. 

Like his father, Robert Wagner is an hon- 
orable and upright man, scrupulously con- 
scientious in every business and financial 
transaction, and it follows that he has that 
large number of warm friends and well- 
wishers that such conduct always beget.s. 
He is a man of whom his nati^■(' city may well 
be proud. 

'^ m fg 
RUFUS WALKER. 

RIIFUS WALKER, one of the most exten- 
sive fuel dealers in Moline, was born in 
Williamstown. Orange County, Vermont, 
December 10. 1S39, his parents being Rufus 
and Susan Walker. Eleven children, seven 



boys and four girls, were born to this couple. 
The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, 
died December 22, 1839, when the subject of 
this sketch, the youngest of the large family, 
was only twelve days old. The seven sons 
all learned the same trade as the father, that 
of shoemaking. 

Rufus Walker obtained a common school 
education in Williamstown, and in November 
1860, he left his native state and came west, 
settling in Rock Island County, where he 
obtained a clerkship in the general store of 
Ainsworth tV Walker at Edgington. He was 
employed in this store until July, 1864, when 
he purchased the business and conducted it 
(uitil I'ebruary, 1873, when he removed to 
Rock Island, and in company with C. E. 
Dodge purchased the business of E. H. 
Smyth, which they conducted for three years 
under the firm name of Walker & Dodge. In 
the spring of INTO, together with Mr. Meigs 
Wait, he secured the right of way and about 
.?22,000 in money for the Mercer County 
Railroad Company. Mr. Walker ran a gener- 
al store furnishing supplies during that same 
year. They also purchased the land where 
the village of Reynolds now stands, and laid 
out that town, later going into the lumber 
business there, and continuing in that busi- 
ness until the winter of 1 887. In February, 
1S82, Mr. Walker moved from Rock Island to 
Reynolds. When the firm discontinued the 
lumber business in 1887, Mr. Walker moved 
from Reynolds to Moline, where for the past 
eighteen years he has been engaged in the 
coal and fuel business. 

On August 19, 1862, Mr. Walker was mar- 
ried to Miss Jane Edgington, the daughter of 
John and Susan Edgington of Buffalo Prairie 
Township in this county. A biographical 
sketch of Mr. John Edgington appears else- 
where in this volume. Four children have 
l)een born of this wedlock, they being John, 
deceased; Frank B.; Rufus, Jr., who is now 
in partnership with his father, and Susan E. 

Mr. Walker is a member of the Congrega- 




v^-?*^^ 



HISTORIC RO C K ISLAND COUNTY 



57 



tional Church of MoHnc^. He has never 
iiffiHated himself witli any fraternal organi- 
zations. In ixilitics he is a lii'puhliean, but 
has ne\x>r been an aspirant for party olfice. 
The life of Rufns Walker is the life of the 
average plain, nnustentat iuiis business man. 
He has hieen successful in the things that he 
has \mdertaken. He is a man highly honor- 
able and with a sei-upulous regard for his 
word. He enjoys a re|iutation of being a 
business man of great ability ami of high 
integrity. 

m 'M ^ 
JUDGE J. M. GOULD. 

IN THE early da\-s of the west the more fa- 
vored districts naturally drew to them- 
selves the men of greatest ambition, fore- 
sight, and business sagacity. These sought 
the fields that held out the most to them in the 
way of ]n'omise for the future, and settlinii 
there, bent their energies to laying the foun- 
dation of prosperity for themselves and their 
posterity. 

Thus it is that Rock Island County has been 
fortunate in the character of its pioneers. 
They were not only of sttu'dy stock fit to 
endow their descendants with the physical 
strength to build up a great communitv but 
they were also above the average in mental 
grasp and moral fibre. They were able to 
discern the opportunities which the region 
held forth for agriculture, manufacturing, 
and commerce, and possessed the sound 
judgment, executive ability, courage and 
perseverance to organize and direct these to 
their full fruition. 

Of this sort was Hon. John M. Could, mer- 
chant, lumberman, banker and manufacturer. 
Few men have had so large a shar<' in ihr \i\)- 
building of any city as Judge Could has had 
in making Moline what it is and rarely, indeed, 
has any one lived to see the changes wrought in 
any community that he has seen take place 
in this thriving manufacturing center. His 
activities have extended into many fields and 



in all of them he has left a permanent impress. 
Probably no other American of English 
descent can boast of an ancestry inhabiting 
American soil longer than that of Judge 
Gould. Zacheus Could came to what later 
became Massachusetts from England in 16.34, 
fourteen years later the Pilgrim fathers landed 
from the Mayflower at Plymouth, and our 
subject is of the eighth generation descending 
from him. The original home of Zacheus 
Gould still remains in the hands of the family. 
Amos Gould, grandfather of Judge Gould, 
was also a native; of Massachusetts, and 
fought for freedom in the war of the Revolu- 
tion. Soon after the close of that conflict he 
removed to New Ham]-)shire, where his son, 
Amos, Jr., father of Judge Gould, was born. 

John Maxlield Could first opened his eyes 
upon this world at I'iermont, New Hampshire, 
February L'l. 1S'.?2. He was the oldest of a 
family of ten children. His mother was Nancy 
Kartlett, a nalixc of the Granite State, and a 
daughtt'r of Nathaniel Bartlctt, himsi'jf a 
soldier in the Revolution. Amos Goukl, Jr. 
learned the tiuiner's trade Ijut subsequently 
engaged in agricultural pursuits audit was on 
the farm that liis children were reared. Nine 
of the latter removed to the west after they 
reached manhootl and womanhood, and six are 
still living. The parents came to make their 
home in Illinois in 1S5S. The father died in 
181)4 and the mother in 18.S4. 

Our subject availed himself of such advan- 
tages as the common schools of that day 
afforded, supplementing them with two years 
attendance at academies at Canaan and Lyme, 
New Hampshire. For three years after com- 
pleting his studies he ta.ught school, working 
on his father's farm in the summer season. 
Then, attracted by the opportunities the west 
afforded, and without capital other than will- 
ing hands and a stout heart, he left his native 
state and made his way by the tedious methods 
of travel of those days to Grand Detour, 
Ogle County, Illinois, a place that gave 
promise of becoming an important center- 



58 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Here he found work in a general store and 
served as salesman three years. Having in 
this time demonstrated his worth to his em- 
ploA'er he was admitted to partnership. One 
3'ear later, in 184S, he disposed of his business 
interests in Grand Detour and removed to 
Moline to become a member of the firm of 
Deere, Tate A- Gould, the senior partner, John 
Deere, afterward the famous plow manu- 
facturer, having previously also engaged in 
business in a small way at Grand Detour. 
Mr. Gould acted as financial manager of the 
new concern at Moline for four years, when 
the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Deere be- 
coming sole owner. The junior memljer 
formed a partnership with Dewitt G. Dimock 
for the manufacture of wooden ware, the es- 
tablishment being the first of that nature in 
the west. A site for a factory was leased 
from the government on the Island of Rock 
Island and business was carried on with great 
success for many years. In 1867 at the re- 
quest of the government, the plant was re- 
moved to the mainland and a lumber mill 
was erected the following year, a stock com- 
pany being formed at this time. Mr. Dim- 
ock was chosen president and Mr. Gould vice 
president. The latter succeeded as head of 
the company on the death of Mr. Dimock in 
1886. In 1890 the woodenware branch was 
sold to a syndicate and from that time on 
exclusive attention was given to lumbering 
and the manufacture of wooden pails. The 
company owned extensive timber lands in 
Wisconsin and rafted the logs to Moline. 
Twice the plant of the company was de- 
stroyed by fire, first in 1856 and again in 1 875, 
lightning being the cause in the second in- 
stance. Each time it was rebuilt on a larger 
scale than before and tlie business grew with- 
out interruption. 

In 1857 Mr. Gould, in company with D. G. 
Dimock and G. P. Ryder, established a bank 
in Moline under the firm name of Gould, 
Dimock & Company. Mr. Gould had personal 
charge of this institution and it was successful. 



In 1863 it was chartered as the First National 
Bank of Moline with a paid up capital of 
$50,000. Mr. Gould was cashier four years, 
when he was elected president. 

Among the other institutions in which Mr. 
Gould was actively interested was the Moline 
Water Power Company which he helped to 
organize and of w-hich he was elected treas- 
\u'er and director. He was also a director 
and treasurer in 1876 of the St. Louis, Rock 
Island and Chicago Railroad Company, which 
is now the St. Louis division of the Chicago, 
Burlington and Quincy Railroad. 

The title by which he is generally known 
came to Mr. Gould through his election as 
county judge for a term shortly after he came 
to Moline. Opposition to slavery caused him 
to leave the Democratic party of which he was 
a member in early life, and he became a Re- 
publican when that party was organized. 
He served sixteen years as member of the 
state board of charities, and was treasurer of 
the township of Moline for thirty-three years, 
during which time he donated to the public 
schools the sum of $2,400 in fees to which he 
was legnlly entitled. 

It is to Judge Gould's public spirit that Mo 
line owes its first direct telegraph service. 
On his personal guarantee against loss an 
office was established there and the sum of 
$112 was paid upon his pledge before the 
establishment became self-sustaining. 

Judge Gould is the father of the Moline City 
Hospital. He it was who drew up the char- 
ter which requires the city to levy a two-mill 
tax annually for its support. He has also 
contributed liberally for its maintenance from 
his private funds. While not a member of 
any church. Mr. Gould has contributed largely 
to the First Baptist Church of Moline. 

Mr. Gould has been twice married. He 
was united August 13, 1848, with Miss Alice 
Moulton, daughter of ^^ illiam Moulton of 
Randolph, Vermont, and a second cousin of 
Secretary Chase of Ohio. Her death oc- 
curred when she was a bride of but a few weeks. 




^ 



WILLIAM McC'U.XUCHlI 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



59 



At Moline August 9. 1S50, Mr. Gould married 
Miss Hannah M. Dimock, a nativo of Connec- 
ticut and a sister of Dewitt A. ])inioi'l<, who 
later became Mr. Gould's partner. To this 
union five children were born: Alice May and 
John, who died in infancy: Frank W., of Mo- 
line. Fred (i. and Grace P^liza, wife of S. M. 
Hill of Cleburne, Te.xas. 

S5 g?) ss 

WILLIAM McCONOCHIE. 

AM AN who l>olh as a ]jul)lie oflieial and 
as a prominent citizen has been an ini. 
portant factor in moulding Rock Is- 
land's municipal history is William McCono- 
chie. 

The son of .lolm and .Annie (Campbell) 
iMcConochie, he was Ixirii at, Gatehouse, a 
little \illag'' on the st)uthwest coast of Scot- 
lanil, .January 11, 1847. His father's ances- 
tors had li\-ed iti that part of Scotland since 
the days of \\'allace and Hruce. His mother's 
family were Highlanders, and were of the 
house of Argyle. 

The elder McConochies, with their family, 
emigrated to America in the spring of 18.53. 
Coming westward they settled at Joliet, 
Illinois, where on August 11th, but a few 
brief weeks after locating in their newly 
adopted home, tlie father died from the 
effects of a stuistroke, leaving his wife and 
little ones alone among a strange people and 
in a strange land. On exactly the same date 
(August 11th) twenty years later, his wife 
followed him to the grave. Both are interred 
at Joliet. 

William McConochie attended the public 
schools of Joliet and tho Scotch lad was an 
apt and proficient pupil. Utiring th<' winter 
of 1S61-1S6'2, when the South had seceded 
from the Union, when both sides were active 
in their preparation for the deiith struggle; 
when the martial spirit prevailed and pre- 
dominated above all else, when the sound of 
fife and drum were heard throughout the 
length and breadth of the land; when vouth. 



rugged manhood and old age vied with each 
other in their efforts to join those rapidly 
swelling ranks that were so soon to meet in 
desperate conllict, the fire of patriotism, 
fanned into a fierce blaze by the stirring 
times and sc(Mies, filled the breast of (.)ur 
young Scot and he determined to have a 
part in fighting the battles of the country of 
his adoption. But an aijparently insur- 
mountable difficulty presented itself — he was 
too yoimg. l'rol:)al)ly no oni; felt more keenly 
tluin he the handicap of youtli at that time, 
yet nothing daunted, he determined that 
willy-nilly he would be a soldier, and to such 
determination :i,s his no barrier coitld success- 
fully be interposed. He harl saved soine 
money by selling old iron and rags, and liy 
sa\ving wood for the neighbors, for in those 
days wood was the common fuel, and there 
was plenty of demand for a pair of strong 
arms and a saw. With the few dollars that 
he had accumulated he ran away from home 
and followed siune regiments that were going 
to Cairo, Illinois. After a good many re- 
buffs, he succeeded at last in being taken 
along as a drummer hoy in one of the com- 
panies. His amliition was attained. He 
was a real soldier on his way to the front. 
All this time he had been traveling, and had 
entered his regiment, under an assumed name 
so that his mother could not find him and 
have him brought unceremoniously back 
home. He soon learned fr(un stern realiza- 
tion that the life of a soldier was not as bright 
and alluring as his young fancy had pictured 
it in the beginning, but unfiinching and un- 
daitnted he struck resolutely to tlie self- 
imposed life of hardshi]), eiuluring its hard- 
ships ,and privations until after t!i(> Chatta- 
no(.)ga campaign, when the regiment to which 
he was attached came North with a, lot of 
Rebel prisoners who were to be taken to Rock 
Island Arsenal, where a Union Military Prison 
was located, liut: William McConochie did 
not reacli Piock Island that time, for passing 
through Joliet from Chicago at midnight 



60 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the thermometer down below zero, the sol- 
dier lad hungry, cold and scantily clad, the 
spirit of homesickness and the spirit of war 
had a little battle between themselves, and 
the spirit of homesickness conquered, and 
the boy stopped at Joliet to see his mother. 
After a few days visit he again enlisted, this 
time with a Chicago regiment at the front; 
this time in his own nam.e. The officers 
thought him an unusually bright recruit to 
master the tactics so quickly. They did not 
know, and never knew that the supposed 
recruit, still less than eighteen years of age, 
was in fact a veteran who had seen two 
years of hard military service, and had par- 
ticipated in some of the greatest and most 
sanguinary battles in the southwest. Mr. 
McConochie served as a soldier until some 
months after the close of the war, always 
being a private. 

After his return to civil life in 1865, he 
learned the trade of stone cutting. In 1S67 
he crossed the plains, but soon returned to 
this part of the country, living at Rock 
Island, Anamosa, Cedar Rapids, Nauvoo, 
or wherever his work as a stonecutter might 
ake him in quest of employment. 

In 1868 at Rock Island he married Miss 
Isabel Kitson, a young lady of that city. Six 
children blessed this union, three sons and 
three daughters. The oldest son, Captain 
John McConochie, died in 189G at the age of 
twenty-seven. The other two sons. Cap- 
tain W. H. McConochie and Robert F. 
McConochie, both of Rock Island, are mem- 
bers of the contracting firm of Wm. McCono- 
chie A: Sons. The daughters are Isabel, 
now Mrs. Hollingsworth; Mary, now Mrs. 
Dade, and Maggie McConochie, at home. 

After his marriage Mr. McConochie spent 
most of his time in Rock Island. In the 
early seventies there was begun the work of 
improvement at Government Island, the 
plans requiring the construction of many 
new buildings which were to be built of stone. 
This, of course, required the services of stone- 



cutters, and here Mr. McConochie found em- 
ployment. He continued in that employ- 
ment for about twenty years. There were 
times and seasons when the work at the Ar- 
senal was slack and his services were not re- 
quired. At such times he would go else- 
where in search of work, his journeys in quest 
of an opportunity to ply his trade some- 
times carrying him far down into the south- 
west. 

For several years past Mr. McConochie has 
been a contractor, and most of his time has 
been spent at home except the year 1898. 
During that year the firm of Wm. McCono- 
chie (^- Sons had a large contract in Oklahoma, 
and as the two junior members of the firm, 
William H. and Robert F. McConochie, were 
engaged in the war with Spain, the former as 
captain of Company A, of Rock Island, and 
the latter as sergeant of that company, the 
full burden of supervising and taking charge 
of the work fell upon Mr. McConochie, and he 
was obliged to spend most of that year upon 
the scene of the contract, attending to duties 
that would otherwise have been assumed by 
his sons. William H. McConochie, then 
captain of Company A, as has been stated, 
succeeded his brother John in that office, the 
death of the latter having occurred two years 
before the outbreak of the Spanish War. 

But Mr. McConochie's active life has not 
been devoted exclusively to commercial pur- 
suits. Upon the panorama of politics he has 
been one of the city's striking figures. A 
staunch Republican, he has been repeatedly 
honored by his party with municipal offices, 
the only ones to which he ever aspired. In 
1887 he was elected alderman from the 
Sixth Ward, and in 1889 was for the first time 
elected mayor of Rock Island. He was re- 
elected in 1891. In 1S99 he was again a 
candidate for mayor and was elected. Once 
more in 1903 he was a candidate for that 
office and was elected, making eight years 
in all that he has served Rock Island as its 
chief executive, one year longer than any 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



61 



other individual liad previously held that 
office. 

His administrations were exceptionally pros- 
perous ones for the city, and he was larsely 
instrumental in inaugurating and carrying for- 
ward iMiblic inlpr()^■enlent by sjx'cial taxa- 
tion. He laid tlu^ first paving brick wrr put 
down in Rock Island, organized the |iaid fire 
department, and was mayor when the vari- 
ous fire stations were built. He was a firm 
friend of the park system which the city was 
endeavoring to establish and exerlcc] all his 
influence toward aiding in the imiiro\('nicnt 
of Spencer and (iarnsey Squares, and co- 
operating with him tlie ijublic-spirted citi- 
zens of Rock Island were liberal in their 
contributions of statuary, fountains and or- 
naments for the l)(\uitification of these liright 
oases in the districts of factories and business 
houses. He extended Rock Island's sewer 
and water-main systems, and aided in the 
building of the electric street railway system, 
which has done nuich to change Rock Island 
from a village to a meirupolis. He rebuilt 
the reservoir system, and constantly urged 
the erection of a pulilic library building at a 
time when the city's public library was 
housed in rented quarters. Although the 
library was not buill during his administra- 
tion, yet when the contract w-as finally 
awarded his firm were the successful biddersi 
so that he had an active part in the erection 
of an edifice of which the city may well be 
proud. The building of the two new iron 
and steel bridges whicli span Rock River and 
connect Rock Island witli that part of the 
county lying south of th<' city was done under 
his administration, and thus the inducement 
was laid for interu.rban service to seek en- 
trance into Rock Island. 

Although a firm Repuldican and stead- 
fast in loyalty to his party, Mr. McConochie 
has never been animated by any controver- 
sial spirit that would antagonize those of 
opposite political belief. Consequently, he 
has hosts of warm friends and supporters 



aiTiong his political opponents, and their 
^■|ltes have been freely given him whenever he 
has b«en a candidate for office. 

Mr. McConochie is a member of the First 
Methodist Episcopal Church of Rock Island 
and has jjcen a member of the official board 
of that church for t<>n years. He is also one 
of the trustees. In his fraternal affiliations 
he is a member of Ti'io f^odge No. 57, Ancient 
Fee and Accejited i\Iasons,and has been a mem- 
ber of that lodge for more I linn thirty-five 
years, and a member of H.nrrett ('hapter 
almost as long. Iwir nearly thirty years he 
has lj(>en a meml.)er of Rock Island Command- 
ery of Knights Templar. He is a member of 
nil other societies with the exception of the 
two military organizations, .lohn Ruford Post, 
Cirand .\rmy of the Republic, and Shilnh Com- 
mand, Union \'eterans' T^nion. 

Such is the life history of William McCon- 
(ichie, a iiiaii jiossessed of great executive 
abilit\- and k<'en business and financial fore- 
sight. Through hard work and diligent appli- 
cation t(i his business he has acquired a mod- 
est fortune, and that fortune is an honest one. 
Kindly in disposition, gentl" in speech, yet 
unswerving in purpose he commands at once 
the admiration and respect of those who 
know him. As mayor of Rock Island he held 
the reins of government in a firm grasp, but 
li(> ruled more through persuasion and argu- 
ment than through the assumplion of mere 
arbitrary power. Cunscientious in his deal- 
ings with the world, upright and honorable 
iu every relation in life, he is one of Rock 
Island's best citizens. 

n m m 
MORRIS GEISMAR. 

K/T ORRIS GEISMAR was born April 7, 
I I 1S6S, at Freiburg, Baden, Germany, 
his parents being Nathan and Freder- 
ika Geismar. In 18S5 he came to America 
and immediately located in Rock Island, 
which city has ever since been his home. In 
18SG he entered the employ of the Moline 



62 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Wagon Company, taking a position in the 
collection department of that concern. Ten 
years later he was elected secretary and 
treasurer of that company, a position which 
he now holds. As a part of his duties Mr. 
Geismar has assumed what may be called 
the publicity department of the Moline 
Wagon Company. By systems of judicious 
and well selected advertising he keeps the 
name and the virtties of the Moline wagon 
prominently before the eyes of the entire 
world's farming interests, these advertise- 
ments appearing in many langtuiges and in 
many lands. 

Mr. Geismar was married June 26, 1905, to 
Miss Carrie Goldsmith, a young lady born 
and reared in Rock Island. They have one 
child, a son, Nathaniel E. Geismar. 

In politics Mr. Geismar is a Republican, 
and although he has never been a candidate 
for office, yet he has been repeatedly selected 
as a delegate at different conventions of his 
party. 

Mr. Geismar and his wife occupy a promi- 
nent place in the social life of the Tri-Cities. 
He is a member of the Moline Lodge of Elks, 
and belongs to both the Rock Island and the 
Moline Clubs. 

His conscientious devotion to the duties 
entrusted to him has resulted in his steady 
promotion, until he now holds an enviable 
position in one of Moline's greatest indus- 
tries. 

JS 5S i?l 

JOHN W. POTTER. 

NEWSPAPER work is essentially transi- 
tory in its nature. The newspajjer 
article that may be read with the most 
absorbing interest today by thousands is 
tomorrow forgotten by the eager public as it is 
then no longer "news" and some more recent 
event has occurred upon which public atten- 
tion is centered for a few brief hours. Conse- 
C|ueiilly the newspaper article possesses none 
of the stability of other literary effort. Rare- 



ly is it kept for general reference except in the 
files of the newspaper office itself. It is read, 
makes more or less of an impression for a 
time and is superseded by tlie next day's 
issue and tossed aside. To make a permanent 
impression upon this particularly kaleido- 
scopic field of the world's work requires 
something more than mere talent; it requires 
absolute genius, and the fact that a publisher 
and editor can make a deep and lasting 
imprint upon the public conscience — an im- 
print that remains unobliterated for years 
after his decease shows him to have possessed 
that genius. Such a man was John W. Potter 
deceased, for years publisher and editor of 
the Rock Island Arfius. 

He was born .August 17. 1861, at Skibbereen, 
Count}' Cork, Ireland, his parents being John 
W. and Josephine (Ryan) Potter. That in 
his early youth he should enter the newspaper 
field seemed only natural as his environment 
tended strongly in that direction, both his 
father and grandfather (whose given names 
were also John AV.) were successful in that 
profession until the day of their death. 

John W. Potter, Sr., the father of the 
subject of this sketch came to America in 
the year 1S53, settling in Buffalo, New York- 
Here in 1S56 occurred his marriage to Miss 
Josephine Ryan, a young lady born and 
reared iia that city. Soon after his marriage 
he retm-ned to Ireland with his young wife 
and there otir subject was born, as has been 
stated, in 1861. The Potters continued to 
make their home in Ireland until 1865, when 
the father again retm-ned to America, bring- 
ing his faiiuly with him. For a short time 
he again made his home in Buffalo, and then 
went to St. Louis, Missotiri. Four years 
later he removed to Bolivar, inthe same state, 
where he established and published for several 
years a newspaper known as the Bolivar 
Herald. Visiting Freeport, Illinois, he dis- 
posed of his newspa])er plant at Bolivar, and 
afterward made the former city his home. 
In* Freeport he jmrchased an interest in the 




J. W. POTTICR 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



63 



Freeport Bulletin, and later became its sole 
owner. In 1S,S'2 he pin-ehased the Roek 
Island Argus frmn Richardson and Powers, 
then its proprietors. Under their manage- 
ment the paper had not been particnlarly 
successful. After his ])Hrchase of th(^ Ar(pif< 
he placed his son, John W., .Jr. in control as 
managing editor, he luuing prior to that 
time resided with his ])aren1s in Freeport. 
Upon the death of his father, which occurred 
at Freeport in 1885, John W., the son, was 
left sole proprietor of the Ari/us. He re- 
mained its proprietor and editor until his 
death, which occurred January 11, LSOS. 
\\'li('n lie took charge of the Ari/us, he brought 
to it the enthusiasuT of young manhood, tem- 
pered by experience. He set for himself and 
for his paper a high standard and that stand- 
ard was maintained - throughout his life- 
The Argus was a nemocratic party organ, 
and as its editor Mr. Potter ac.complished 
more for his party during the seventeen years 
that he edited the paper than any other Demo- 
cratic newspa])er between (Jmaha and Chicago. 
March 5, 1889, occurred the nuptials of 
John W. Potter and Miss Minnie E. Abbott, 
daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Fisher 
Abbott, one of the liest known and most 
highly respected families in Rock Island, 
Their married life together was a most 
happy one. and to them three children were 
born, a daughter, Marguerite, antl two s(ms, 
John W. and J^en II. He is survived by his 
wife and children. One brother. Osier F. 
Potter, resides at Freeport, and a sister. 
Marian E. Potter, in Minneapolis. 

Mr. Potter during his lifetime -wiis a mem- 
ber of St. Paul Lodge, No. 107, Knights of 
Pythias, and of C. W. HawesCamp, No. 1550, 
Modern Woodmen of America. He was a 
most delightful man to meet socially; a most 
genial and polished gentleman. 

In 1893 Mr. Potter was appointed postmas- 
ter "of Rock Island by President Clevel.-uid, 
and it was duruig his tenure of the ollice that 
the present postofficc was erected upon the 



site at the eornei- of Sixteenth Street .and 
Second .\ven\ie, and the office removed to its 
new location. In tlie year IS'.IO when Pen T- 
Cable was nominated and deleted as Congress- 
man from this congressional district, Mr. 
Potter was chairnuui nf lh(> Deimicratic Con- 
gressional (.'ommittee. In [lolitics xMr, Potter 
was keen and far-sighted. 

In cimclusion it may !)(> truthfully said nf 
.lohn W. Potter that he was a splendid type 

of manh 1, .-i man of keen nature, broad 

mind and liberal in his dealings with his fel- 
low-men; a man generous of impulse and a 
d<ier of kindly acts; a man of strong will and 
tenacious of pur])ose. yet always open to con- 
viction. His death was a pcfmanent loss to 
the community in which he lived and toiled 
and to the newsjiaper wliich through his 
efforts b(>caine a power thi'oughout Rock 
Island County. 

m -M Sg 

J. SILAS LEAS. 

ONE of the old and respected citizen 
of Rock Islan<l County, a man who 
stands high in the estimation of all who 
know him, is J. Silas Peas, who although now 
spending the closing years of his life in re- 
tirement, was at one time engaged in some of 
Rock Island County's ])rincipal manufacturies. 
He was born October 31, 1830, in ('umber- 
land County, PennsyK'aida, his parents being 
Christian H. and Julia .\nn (Brandt) LeaS' 
Ixith of whom were also luitives of that state. 
His mother died when the sul)jecl of our 
sketch was but two years of age. In his early 
boyhood Mr. Leas attended the public schools 
of his home covmty and aNo the private acad- 
emy of Professor Burns. Upon the comple- 
tion of his course in the academy Mr. Leas 
entered the employ of his father who was a 
merchant, and served as his clerk for a num- 
ber of years. 

In 1850 the family decided to come west, 
and on the 2d cLay of May in that year they 
arrived in Rock Island, tlieir new home- 



64 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Here the father again opened a general mer- 
chandise business, and his son was again for a 
short time emphiyed as his elerk. Later he 
was taken into partnership, the firm name 
being C. H. Leas c<: 8on. In 1854 this firm 
bviilt the first flour mill in Rock Island, and 
later disposed of their store in order to devote 
all their attention to the milling business. 

In 1S61 they disposed of the mill, and the 
subject of our sketch purchased an interest in 
the manufacturing firm of Wycoff & Barnard 
of Moline, a firm engaged in the manufacture of 
mill machinery. The firm name was changed 
from Wycoff i*l- Barnard to Wycoff, Barnard 
& Company and then changed to Barnard 
& Leas Manufacturing Company and incorpo- 
rated under the same name. For nineteen 
years Mr. Leas traveled for his firm and after 
that time he devoted his special attention to 
the securing of patents on his partner's inven- 
tions. The business prospered, and from a 
small beginning the plant was enlarged until 
today it is one of Moline's chief industries. 
In 1898 Mr. Leas sold his stock in the concern 
to Charles .\. Barnard, and since that time, 
as has been said, he has lived a life of retire- 
ment. In addition to his interest in this firm 
Mr. Leas was also for a number of years one 
of the directors of the Moline Nafional Bank. 

On June 29, 1903, Mr. Leas was married to 
Mrs. Emily Francis (Hersey) Lambert, the 
daughter of Elijah and Emiline Hersey, who 
lived in Rock Island for many years. Their 
happy married life was of short duration, Mrs. 
Leas dj'ing on .January 29, 1907. 

Mr. Leas has always been a Republican, 
and in the early days of Rock Island he served 
two terms as assessor, being elected upon the 
Republican ticket. 

He has since his majority been prominently 
connected with the Masons, being a member 
of Trio lyodge which he joined when twenty- 
one years of age. Later when Rock Island 
Lodge was formed he was one of the charter 
members, and served three terms as master. 
He is also a member of Barrett Chapter, No- 



18, Rock Island Council, No. 20, and of Rock 
Island Commandery, of which latter organiza- 
tion he is past emminent commander. 

Diu'ing l\Ir. Leas' lifetime he has accumu- 
lated considerable Rock Island real estate? 
the rise in value of which has brought him 
handsome profits. 

In his long and active business career he had 
a reputation of highest integrity and of busi- 
ness ability, a man of extraordinary foresight 
in placing investments and a good and public 
spirited citizen of Rock Island. 
Si SS 5S 

DAVID HAWES. 

D.WTI) HA WES, the subject of this biog- 
raphy, father of Major Chas. W. and Frank 
B. Hawes, was born in Belchertown, Mass- 
achusetts, October 19, 1809, and died in Rock 
Island, Illinois, April 20, 1900, aged ninety 
years six months and one day. In all that 
makes for good citizenship, it may be truly 
said that David Hawes was a model. He 
was one of the earliest settlers of Rock Island. 
His grandfather, .lohn Hawes, was a Revolu- 
tionary soldier, fighting with the American 
patriots at Lexington and Bunker Hill, and 
later participating in the capture of Ticonder- 
oga, being wounded in this latter engagement. 
David Hawes resided in Massachusetts im- 
til 18.35, when, in company with Lemuel An- 
drews, his brother-in-law, he set his face west- 
ward. He reached St. Louis a month later, 
and in October of 18.35, arrived in Rock Island. 
Rock Island, at the time of his arrival here, 
was a trading post for the Sac and Fox 
Indians. There were but ten houses in the 
village inhabited by white men. In Decem- 
ber of 1835, Mr. Hawes returned to St. Louis, 
overland, accompanied by Mr. Andrews- 
They followed the old Indian or "Cow" trail- 
The trip was one filled with hardships. Lost 
in a blizzard, Mr. Andrews almost succumbed 
and i\Ir. Hawes struggled through the 'storm 
to the nearest settlement. Mr. Andrews was 
rescued in the nick of time. 




X. 

3 



r. 



Q 



HISTORIC ROCK I S L A N D C O U N T Y 



65 



In January nf ISod. Mr. Hawos i-cl iii-ncil 
to Massachusetts IVdiii St. I,iiuis, ami ictunicil 
to Illinois, aiH'ompanicd liy his wife, who was 
Mis.s Julia M. Hal)c<ick. of Wai-e, Massa- 
chusetts, locating at Naples. He eiiKasefl in 
the hotel hnsiness at that point for a shoi't 
time, i)ut in September, 1(S57, again located 
in Rock Island. Vnv a time he conducted 
the old Huck Island House. On Septenilier 
15, 1N7(I. -Mrs. Hawes passed away. Two 
years later .Mi-, llawes was united in wedl(i(d< 
to Mrs. Susan H. Arnold, who sin'vi\'es. 

Always of a devout turn of mind. due. no 
tl()ul)t to his Puritan ancestry, it was not 
until hS50 that Mr. Hawes united with the 
Baptist Church of Rock Island. On March 
27th of that same year he was elected a 
deacon, and remained a member of that 
church and an ordained deacon to the day of 
his tleath. His cons])icuous Christian life, 
indeed, won the distinction of ordination. 
It is stated that he was the im\y deacon e\er 
ordained by the Ha]itist Church in Rcick 
Island. 

From the date of his locatinn here, Mr. 
Hawes took a leading anil active part in 
every movement designed for the growth 
and betterment of Rock Island. He was 
instrumental in the construction of tiie first 
sewer in Rock Island. He served the city 
as alderman and later as acting mayor, and 
in 1860-1862 was sheriff of Rock Island 
County. He alsn hold the office of I'niteil 
States Ciauger at this puint fur a number of 
years, held the office of coroner for twelve 
years, and for many years prior to ami at 
the time of his death was a justice of the 
peace. 

At the time of his decease, in I'.tOO, besides 
being the oldest member of the ]iai)tist 
Church, he was a meml)er of the Old Settlers' 
Association, with which he alKliated as a 
charter meniber, and had held continuous 
membership in the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, joining in 1848. His funeral 
attested the love and esteem in which he was 



held by the peuph' of i{ock Island generally, 
'i'lic services were held at the First Haptist 
Church, the ceremony being conducted liy 
the pastor. Reverend (1. H. Simons, assisted 
by Reverend H. C. belaud, pastor of the 
Orion Ba]itist Church. R<ick Island Lodge 
.\'ii. IS, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
conducted the services at the grave. 

David Hawes was .-m earnest Christian, a 
conscientious public s('i-\-aut, devoted to his 
family and ardent in his pali'idtism. He 
li\ed the perfect Chi-istian life. 

ffii « jm 
JAMES FRANKLIN ROBINSON. 

A.MAN of promineiu'C and wealth, yet 
unspoiled by his position and ]irns- 
perity ; a man whose life was filleil 
with kindly thoughts and generous deeds; 
a man of sterling integrity, who typified in 
his cver)'day life the highest type of Christian 
character, was James Fraidclin Robinson, the 
subject of this sketch. 

He was born in Ro<d< Island County Feb- 
ruary 27, 1841), and died May 2:?. 1902, at 
his home in the city of Rock Island. He 
was the son of those well known Rock Island 
County pioneers, a sketch of whose lives is 
written elsewhere in this book. Captain and 
.Mi's. Thomas J. Robinson. 

.\s a boy, Frank Ivobinson, as he was 
known throughout his life in Rock Island, 
was of a thoughtful and studious bent of 
mind, and of a deeply religious nature. 
I'nlike many other sons of wealth)- ])ai-ents, 
he had no inclination towai-d frivolity and 
dissipation. His early educ-ition was re- 
ceived in the public schools and later he 
entered an academy and ])rcpared himself 
for entrance to Northwestern University, 
where he later graduated in the classical 
coiu'se. 

U])on the com|iletion of his collegiate 
studies Mr. Roliinson i-eturned home and 
entered the liank w-hich his father had estab- 
lished, holding the res]ionsible position of 



66 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND CO U N T Y 



cashier, a position which lie held to the date 
of his father's death, Ajjril 12, 1899 — a period 
of twenty-five years. Upon the death of 
Captain Robinson, his son succeeded him as 
President of the hank, and was also made 
President of the Central Trust and Savings 
Bank of Rock Island, closely allied to the 
Rock Island National Bank. Mr. Robinson 
was a tireless and indefatigable worker. He 
gave the most [trofound attention to every 
duty, bringing to each task the utmost pre- 
cision and accuracy. 

On October 29, 1879, occurred the nuuTiage 
of ]\Ir. Robinson and Miss Mary Roades, a 
young lady of Pekin, Illinois. Of this 
marriage two daughters were born, l*oth of 
whom died in infancy. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Robinson were members of the Methodist 
Church, the church with which Mr. Robin- 
.son's father and mother had been affiliated 
throughout their lives, and in fact which they 
were instrumental in establishing in Rock 
Island. Mr. Robinson and his accomplished 
wife lived unostentatious lives. Their gener- 
osity was not confined to public benefactions, 
but in many instances their ]iresence in the 
sick room of someone less fortunate than 
themselves, their active assistance in the 
relief of suffering and want, has been s]wken 
of by others, although they themselves never 
alhided to these incidents. Mr. Robinson 
was a man of fine appreciation; of cultivated 
literary tastes, a lover of home and of home 
life. Mrs. Robinson is a singidarly accomp- 
lished wonuui, a musician of great talent. 
Their married life was ideal. Each was a 
most fitting companion for the other. Their 
taste.s were similar, and their aiu])le fortune 
enabled them to en.)oy the best in travel, 
music, literature and art. 

In addiiion to the many secret benefactions 
of Mr. Robinson diunng his lifetime, he was 
generous in his aitl to educational institutions. 
To the American I'niversity at Washington, 
I). ('.. he gave .'f25,()()(): to Denver University, 
Denver, Colo., $I(),()()(); to Augustana College 



of this city, $5,000; and to McKendree Col- 
lege, Lebanon, 111,, $5,000. 

The real magnanimity of the man is fulh' 
shown by the jirovisions of his will, an instru- 
ment disposing of his entire fortune of several 
hundred thousand dollars, and distributing 
it amongst church and educational institu- 
tions. This will was made after the fullest 
conference with his wife, who gave its every 
provision her heartiest approval, and -who 
has not only cheerfully and devotedly given 
her best energies toward carrying out its pro- 
visions, But who has actually increased and 
added to the fimd to be distributed. By the 
])rovisions of this will his wife, during her 
lifetime, is to enjoy the income from the 
entire fortune and afterward the following 
ol)jects are named as beneficiaries: 

The family homestead, a magnificent estate 
occupying an entire block in the best resi- 
dence district in Rock Island, is to be dedi- 
cated to the uses of a Deaconess Home and 
Orphanage, to be held in trust by the First 
iMethodist E]iiscopal Church of Rock Island. 

Mr. Robinson always felt the most lively 
interest in the growth and welfare of religious 
and educational institutions. l)>n-ing his life- 
time he was a liberal contrilnitor to these 
institutions which he felt were so essential in 
the progress and develojjment of Christian 
civilization, and at his death he left practi- 
cally his entire fortune to their furtherance 
and upbuilding. 

In a former paragrajih the fact of .Mi'. 
Robinson's gift of $5,000 to McKendree 
College was mentioned. This gift has recently 
been su])]ilemented iiy Mrs. Robinson, who 
from her own income, has given another 
$5,000 to the same college, thus enabling that 
institution to close an offer whereby it secured 
a permanent endowment fund of $100,000. 

Mr. Robinson's last illness was a lingering 
one, which baffled medical skill. His death 
brought to an untimely close a full and active 
life, that was proving a blessing to hunumity. 
Throughout the city there were manv, numv 



// / S r O R I C ROC K I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



07 



expressions of firicl'. ami (if persoiial luss to 
those who had known him, and it was the 
general sentiment that a ji'ood man had ijone 
to his reward. 



CAPTAIN THOMAS J. ROBINSON. 

THE ninniri|)al history of Hock Ishunl 
contains st)nie illustrious names. It is 
a city that has been slow in attainiuf;- 
its present jiroportions. l>ut its growth has 
been steady and constant. To those hardy 
and adventurous men who in an eai-l\- day 
saw Rock Island's possibilities and expended 
strength, time and money in laboring to 
build up what was then a mere handfid of 
people gathered together, great cixMlit must 
be given. They had faitli in Rock Island's 
future. They labored to make that future a 
reality, and in their laboi-s tliey were suc- 
cessful. 

One of those men who had a most promi- 
nent part in tlie developuu'ut <if Rock Island, 
and who in his long and happy lifetime saw 
the cit\' grow from a snudl hamlet to a thri\'- 
ing numicipality . ami who could well feel that 
his faith in that city he hail chosen as his 
home had not been misplaced, was Captain 
Thomas J. Robinson. 

He was born in Appleton, Maine, July 2S, 
ISlS. His father was of English, and his 
mother of German extraction, though both 
were natives of the State of .Maine. The 
early youth of their son was spent on the 
parental fai'iu. I''arm life. howe\'er. |)roved 
most uncongenial to the lad. and he decided 
to abanilon it at the earliest opportunity. 
While still a mere boy he leariu'd f he cooper's 
trade, and by this means he earned sullicient 
money to complete a course of study at Kents 
Hill Academy, and upon the complelion of 
his course he began teaching school in his 
home neighborhood. 

In 1.S3S he came to Illinois. The journey 
was a long and tetlious one. rerpiiring more 
than thirty days for its completion. Upon 



his arri\al in this State he first settled at 
White Hall, where he secure<l a school and 
taught for three years. 

During this time he was apiminled assessor 
for (Ireene County by (lo\'ernor Caidin. He 
entered uiion this work with tlie same 
thoroughness thai characterizefl his e\'ery act 
throughout his life, and made the first perfect 
list of property that (ireene County had ever 
had. rpiin his journey to Illinois the young 
man had discovered that the subject of water 
transportation was a most impoi-taiit one, 
and that it was destined to take a leading 
part in the development of the new country, 
lie engagetl as (derk on a Mississip|ii packet 
plying betW'Cen New ()ileans and .Memphis, 
and for two seasons he coulinueil in this ]iosi- 
tion. Cpon abandoning this work he made 
a \'isit to his home in Maine where he re- 
nuiined for a year. 

P)Ut Thouuis ,1. Robinson knew that the 
west was the land of promise for a young man, 
and at the expiration of the year spent at 
his home he again returned to Whitehall, 
coming b\' wav of Chicago. The city was 
then in its infancy, and Captain Robins ui in 
his later years relaleil that for $•")() \w coidd 
have bought the plat of groimd at the corner 
of .lackson and Clark Streets, now occupieil 
by the (Irani! r.acilic lloti^l. Cpon his return 
to White Hall he again i-esumed his post as a 
school teacher, and continued in that voca- 
tion for anothei' two years. Then he secm-ed 
a position as a deputy in the Treasurer's and 
County Clerk's ollice, and in this position he 
remained four years. 

On .lauuar\' 1-"), IMll, occuri'ed the marriage 
of Thom.'is .]. Hobinson and Miss .Amy Ann 
Henderson, a young l;iil\- of White Hall. 
Together with his bi-other-in-law, .Mr. Perry 
Henderson, he pundiased a farm in Rock 
Island County, near Hillsdale, where he re- 
mained for three years. At the end of that 
time he sold his interest in the farm, and 
formed a parternershij) with Temple, Dicker- 
son and (.'ompany, with whom for a period of 



68 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND C U N T'Y 



fi\e vears he was engaged in tlie mercantile 
and milling business at Port Byron. 

As has been said in the opening of this 
sketch, Captain Robinson was one of tliose 
who saw and had faith in the future of Rock 
Island, and in 1853, upon the dissolution of 
the partnershi]) above referred to, he removed 
to this city and piu'chased of Judge John W. 
Spencer a partnership interest in the Rock- 
Island-Davenport ferry. He at once assumed 
control of the active management of this 
enterprise and his progressive nature imme- 
diately put into effect many improvements, 
the principal of wliich was the substitution of 
steam for the horse as a means of motive 
]30wer. He also added a second boat to the 
Company's equipment, thus greatly facilitat- 
ing and expediting business, to such a degree 
that Rock Island became one of most noted, 
as well as one of the most profitable trans- 
river locations on the upper Mississippi. 

During his entire lifetime Captain Robinson 
was one of the most powerful factors in pro- 
moting the interests of the city, and always 
nuvintained that it, together with Moline and 
Davenport, would eventually become the 
leading manufacturing center of the west. 
He was one of the most prominent figures in 
Rock Lsland's industrial progress, and was a 
])romoter of many new manufacturing enter- 
prises. He was one of the organizers of the 
Rock Island (llass Com]3any, the Illinois 
Watch Com])any, the Rock Island (^uilt 
Company, and the Black Diamond ('(lal 
Company. While on a business triji to an 
eastern city in an early day he saw foi- the 
first time a street railway in operation. Upon 
his return to Rock Island he at once advocated 
the organization of a company for the purposg 
of connecting Rock Island and .Moline iiy a 
street railway. The com])any was organized 
and the ])roject was carried out. That small 
.system was the nucleous of I hat s])len<li(l 
system which today connects and ranufies 
throughout the tri-cities. Captain Robinson 
was conspicuous on his labors to secure the 



location of the Government Arsenal on Rock 
Island. He gave active assistance in pro- 
moting the construction of a railroad between 
Rock Island and St. Louis, and the line con- 
structed is today the St. Louis Division of the 
C. B. A: Q. He was also identified with ^Ir. 
Frederick Weyerhaeuser, the lumber king, in 
the development of the luml)er industry in 
Wisconsin. 

In the Icjcation and construction of the 
Hennepin Canal Captain Robinson was par- 
ticularly active, and besides his individual 
effort he expended a large amount of money 
in furtherance of those efforts. From the 
beginning Captain Robinson had advocated 
the idea that the Hennepin Canal should be of 
sufficient size to admit the largest inland 
vessels, and it was a great disappointment to 
him that it was not Iniilt upon a larger scale. 

In the financial field Captain Robinson was 
conspicuous by his success. In 1871 he 
founded the Rock Island National Bank, an 
institution which still exists in handsomely 
remodeled ciuarters, and which, since its organ- 
ization, has held rank as one of the strongest 
and safest financial institutions in Western 
Illinois. Cajitain Robinson was its president 
from the date of its organization to the time 
of his death, and so closely and thoroughly 
was he identified \\ith the institution that it 
was known by nearly everyone in Rock Island 
as the " Robinson Bank," rather than by its 
regular corporate name. 

In his political affiliation Captain lloi)inson 
was, in his early life, a Henry Clay Whig. 
Ui)on the disintergration of the Whig party 
he gave his allegiance and support to the 
Rei)ublican party, which had l)ut recently 
been organized. In his sentiments Captain 
Robinson was always a pronounced anti- 
slavery advocate. He pos.ses.sed a very ex- 
tensive acquaintance with the leading men of 
the country in both church and state. He 
was a sincere personal friend of Abraham 
Lincoln: Richard Yates, Sr., the war governor 
of Illinois; Governor Richard Oglesbv and 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



69 



otliers. Diii'inti; tlie truuhliMl tiiiio of the 
Civil \^'al■ he was fi-eijiiently ealieil in (■(niiicil 
by Governor Vates, and in such high esteem 
was he held by that great executive that he 
could have hail any a]>|Miinti\e ollice within 
his gift, but he steadfastly refused political 
preferment. He did. however, accept the 
ollice of associate .judge of l\ock Island ( 'ounly 
ami president of its board of super\-isors 
during the war. l)ut these ollices wei-e lU'ged 
u|Hin him and he entered upon their duties at 
a [lersonal expense and inconvenience to 
himself, but he cheerfully ga\-e both of his 
time and his talents in the jierfoiunance of 
the duties that were entailed. 

Jioth C'aiitain and Mrs. Kobinson thi'ough- 
out their Ii\'es were dc\'oted irieml)ei-s of the 
.Methoilist Episcojial Church, and were iduef 
among its influential and generous members. 
They lived simjile, unostentatious lives. They 
were generous to those les.s fortmiate than 
themselves, and their generosity consisted not 
in the mere giving of money but of |iersonal 
service in relieving the condition of the 
unfortunate. Of their marriage two sons 
were li(jrn, James Franklin and .b)lin. A 
sketch of the former ap]iears upon another 
page of this work. The latter son died in 
infancy. 

'I'lie death of Mrs. Rol)inson occurred June 
is. INII."). and that of Ca|)tain Robinson. 
April 12, 181)9. In their de.-ith Rock Island 
lost a man and woman who li\'ed the finest, 
highest type of Clii'istian life, and who 
exemplified, by their kindly, geuei-ous acts, 
the tenets they ]irofessed. 
'M Ks iS 

FREDERICK C. A. DENKMANN. 

V\ /yllKN on March 2, l!)()."), the spirit of 
Yy r'rederick C. A. Denkm.ann passed 
from earth there was completed and 
roundecl Dut a life that nia\- well seixc as .in 
ins])irati(jn for American bo\-s of this and 
succeeding generations, tlirougli its disregai'd 
of dilliculties, steadfa.stness of purpose, energy 



and accom])lishment . sterling worth and help- 
fulness. In such a life there is eiK'oiu-age- 
inent for every young man who is constrained 
to lie the arcliitect and builder of his own 
fortunes, even as this necessity was laid u|ion 
Freilerick C. A. Denkmann. 

He sjirang from stui'dy (lerivum stock, ilid 
this great American lumberman, and that his 
sole inheritance from his ancestors was a 
clear head reinforced by rugged strength wa.s 
not the fault of his forbears, but so es'ent.s 
were shaped by the fortunes of war. I''red- 
erick. mostly called Carl, was born Api'il S, 
1S_'_', at Salzwedel, the ain'ient capital of 
Prussia, the yoimgest son of his father, 
l>ieilrich Denkmann, This father had been 
a successful nnuiufacturer, a man of property 
and standing in the (lernian city. The 
Xa]iolconic wars destroyed his business and 
swept aw"a\" his inhei'ited and accumuhitetl 
wealth. Disheartened and feeling that the 
lost ground could not be regained, Diedrich 
l)eid\nKnin <lied, and the litlle Carl was left 
to the care of (he molhei', upon whom great 
i-esiionsil lilities dc\'ol vei I . 

Circumstances forbaile Carl the en.ioyment 
of advanta.ges that his wiilowed mother wiudd 
gladly have given him. She was able to 
provide him with the mere rudiments of an 
ediu'ation ami could oid\' hope that his native 
strength of charactei' wnulil make \aluable 
his tutelage in the school of experience. His 
days in the school room ended at fourteen, 
and he was placetl as a])])rentice in a machine 
shop as a ])rei)aration for bread winning by 
hard work which circumstances made imper- 
ative. With (ierman thoroughness antl an 
andjition to succeed whicli was native and 
individual. Carl mastereil his tratle. He was 
in after life such a machinist as any employer 
is delighted to have upon his jiayrcdl. He 
was gi'ounded in the |irinciples of mechanics 
to such a degree that no |)eculi,arity of ma- 
terial was ])uzzling, no nicety of touch too 
deft for his i-esoiu'cefulness. in after years 
when his name appeare(l upon the roll of shoji 



HISTORIC ROC K ISLAND COUNTY 



employes, tliis iiiachini.st frequently drew 
equal pay with the sul)er^•isi^g foreman as 
the expert workman of the shop. In the 
years of his youth and early manhood this 
strong and steaiiy yf)ung artisan was uncon- 
sciously laying in jireparedness the founda- 
tions of the great foi'tune which was to be 
his across the ocean. 

In the troublous days of 1S48 the thoughts 
of many in Mr. Denkmann's home city .were 
turned to America It was the land of elbow 
room, of rich reward, of freedom. Those who 
journeyed to this land of promise across the 
Atlantic wi'ote of the ojijiortunities this 
country held for those trained in careful ways 
in thrifty German homes. With his small 
savings and something more valuable, a 
knowledge of his craft, Mr. Denkmann joined, 
in 1849, the tide of those seeking homes in 
the new world. Little had he to Ijring lieside 
health and strength, the desire for political 
liberty and better industrial conditions. 

Mr. Denkmann's first abiding ]ilace in 
.America was Erie, Pennsylvania. Here lie 
speedily found employment, adapted himself 
to the conditions of American citizenship and 
set up his own fireside, December 9, 1849, In- 
wooing and marrying Miss Catherine Bloedel, 
who had also come from Germany, being a 
native of Niedersaulheim, a village in the 
valley of the Rhine. 

It is related of him that when lie first 
applied for work in Erie, the foreman of the 
plant asked him what he could do, and with 
characteristic frankness he replied, "What 
those three men over there are doing." 

With his steady income as a machinist of 
high rank these yoimg peo])le were content in 
their new home for two years after their 
marriage, and then the advantages of the 
West called them to the banks of the Mis- 
sissi).)])i. 

Mr. Denkmann had a bi-otiier li\ing in 
Walcott, Iowa, and there the young ])air 
jo\u-ney(!d. After a short visit of reunion 
the industrious guest looked about for em- 



])loymcnt. This offered in Moline, one of the 
trinity of cities near to Walcott, and there 
Mr. and Mrs. Denkmann settled. For a time 
they lived in Moline and then moved to Rock 
Island, which was their home for more than 
fifty years, even up to the death of Mr. 
Denkmann in 1905. And in that long-time 
home Mrs. Denkmann died .lanuary 15, 
1907. 

On December 9, 1899, Mr. and Mrs. Denk- 
mann celebrated their golden wedding anni- 
versary. In accordance with their usual 
custom, this was celebrated quietly in the 
home with a family dinner. It was made the 
occasion of a very hap)>y reunion, however, 
and all of the immediate family, children and 
grandcliildren, and other near relatives to the 
number of al:)out si.xty were jiresent. 

During the first years of his stay in Rock 
Island Mr. Denkmann worked at his trade 
and allowed his savings to accumulate in the 
thrifty (iernian manner. Then he estab- 
lished himself in the grocery business. This 
was an incident in his life which seems apart 
from his steady and consistent climb from 
the position of a journeyman machinist to 
that of one of the most prominent lumber- 
men in the world. But the grocery business 
served its purpose. A small capital was 
gotten together which made a sawmill owner- 
shi]) possii)le. When he placed his name 
abo\e his modest grocery store the same 
thorough attention to details and ])ervading 
and compelling energy that had made him 
superior in his old line showed in the new 
business. Those who knew him in those 
days recall that he was not content to wait, 
as other grocers did, until the farmers should 
bring in their )jrotluct in order to seciu'e su])- 
plies for his customers. Those who patron- 
ized the Denkmann grocery had the freshest 
and best of e\-erything grown on the farms 
in a wide circuit brought to them liv the pro- 
])rietor and secured by him on an extended 
trij) in the early morning hours while com- 
[letitors were taking one more nap. 



HISTORIC ROCK IS L A N D C OU N T Y 71 

It was in I Slid tliat Mi'. 1 )fiikiiKiiiii fciriiicd men. mon (if rui;,i;oil streiiiitli, sleepless 
with his lirother-in-hiw, Fre(lerii'i< Weyer- enerjiy ami ureat cuui'aKe. .Mi-. Denkmann's 
haeuser, the partnership in tiie himher husi- pecnhar aliihties wei-c siipplementeil cdm- 
ness that aehieved snch mimumentai sui-ress pletely l>y (hose dl' .Mr. \\'e\-erhapnser. Tiie 
that their names became known \\here\'ei' in hitter, traineil m ihe h.indhim of himher, 
tiiis cciiiiitry liiRS and himher were ixiiifiht ami looked after the sales .■iiid lot; supply. .Mr. 
solil. rp to the time that the firm of Weyer- Denkmann, the skilled marhinist, .uninnded 
haenser i^- Denkmann lie.uan operations iip<in in his line with old wmld I horoiiiihness, took 
a scale that ma.de them famous in the limihei' chai'ni' of the maiiufarl me. I'ndei' his skil- 
wiiilil, Mr. 1 )enkmann's life had heeii a ipiiel full luananement the saws huiumeil a new 
one, unmarked by iiu'idents that wmild tune. The new siipeiintcndent was fertile in 
altrart attention. He h.ad li\'eil ;i |iearefiil de\ice.s for impro\im; the merhanical side of 
hiniie lile. workiiiii with enei^\' and iiitelh- the Imsiness. He wmkeil lont^er hours than 
.i;en('e. hut in lines which do mU (U'dinarily any other man on t he pa\roll. His employes 
le;i(l to wealth and iiitliienre. His sphere of used to say that he llimmht nothiiij; of work- 
action had lieen circiimsci-ilied. He was in;; all day alioiit the mill lookini; after im- 
scarcely known heyond the coiitines of the portaiit details of manufai-tui-e and then 
liome town where he li\ed for and with his would juit in half or all the iii^ht coaxing 
family, and enjoyed the respe<-t of his circle some refractory hit of machinerx' into lint for 
of friends. With the foundini; of the lumlier the next day's run. 

firm his manner of life was clian.iied, his The life of the mill siipei'intendenl of those 

opportunities and responsihilities hroad(>ned. da\s was not that of present limes when 

He seemed to have liecome a fa\'(n'ile of li(d<le completely ecpiipped machine shops ready to 

Fortune, and \\\m\\ him wei'e showei-ed hei' turn out any tlesired bit of repair are in 

blessings in .golden ])rofiision. When the tide telegraphic and ex|>ress communication. When 

i}f prosjierity did set in, it fiumd him ready. We^-erhaeuser i^- Denkmann began business 

He had been seasoned by poverty in boy- the chief machinist had to be a man who 

hood: he had his unfulfilled dreams of early could keep the mill working b\- contrivance 

manhood to bring true. He was almost and device self-planned and self-constructed, 

forty years old when he took hold of lumber The firm which later reached such mam- 

niaking, and the jiath to greater accomplish- moth proportions began modestly. A small 

ment. wider influence and deeper usefulness cash payment an<l some notes secured the 

to the community opened before him. mill which was in fairly good condition. The 

Frederick Weyerhaeuser, his partner, had machinery was got in shape by .Mr. Denk- 

been in the em]iloy of .Mead. Smith iV .Marsh, mann, and the business of getting (uit hunber 

and in cliarge of a retail \ard at Coal X'alley, hir their retail traile commenced. The first 

Illinois. This lumber firm had heeii com- season the meidianical genius of Mr. Denk- 

pelled to go out of business. There \vas an maim, for it seems nolh ng less than genius 

opjjortunity to ]iurchase their saw mill and to work such wonders under the circumstances 

l.iusiness at small cost and on easy terms. increased the capacity of I he mill from 

The partnership of Weyerhaeuser it Denk- (i. ODD feet to 15, 0(10 feet per day. .Mr. Denk- 

nnmn was formed after tlie members had luann's partner looked after his end of the 

looked o\er the property and talked of their enterprise. Saws luultipliel: logs climbed 

chances for the future. As a matter of fact. the incline to the mill in closer procession, the 

there was ne\-er any chance of f.ailiire in such freshly s.awcil hiinl)er slid out upon the 

a combination. Thev were both reniark.able trucks in an endless stream. In two \'ears 



72 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the mill driven tn the top sjieed of its i.)ro- 
duction had paid Uir itself and was now 
the property of this new firm in the lumber 
world. 

The business seemed now well under way. 
but there were large ex])enses to lie met: 
obligations must be punctiliously cared for. 
lest the credit of the firm should suffer, and 
their credit formed a large part of their work- 
ing capital. They had little beside except 
tireless energy and faitli in themselves. 
Strict ec( nomy was practiced in manufacture. 
In many American mills there are mechanical 
devices in use that date from this mill and 
those days. They were the invention of the 
partner-manager of the ]iremier Weyerhaeuser 
A- Denkmann mill and the result of his cease- 
less planning to produce lumlier as cheajily 
as possible, to establish a solid business and 
win success. The output of this mill was 
increased until it was considered one of the 
best on the Mississippi River. 

Encourageil by their success witli this 
small sawmill property, which in these days 
is known as tlie lower mill the firm considered 
broadening their field. There was another 
Rock Island mill on the market. It was 
known as the Skinner mill and was located 
where is now the site of the di\ision round- 
house of the Rock Island System. This mill 
was built in 1(S.5() by ;i .Mr. Barnes. In this 
venture Messrs. iJenkmaiin and Weyer. 
haeuser were joined by three other gent enien 
named Anawalt. (iray and Cro])])?)-. The 
firm thus formed was named Anawalt, Denk- 
mann i^- ("o. This mill was soon in successful 
o]>eration. Later it was moved and consoli- 
dated with the plant of Keator, Wilson iV: 
('om])any. and a new conqiany formed which 
bore the title, the Rock Island Lumber iVr 
Manufacturing ('oin])aiiy. This organization 
by the magnitude of its ()])erations became 
famous among lumi)ermen. Its mills formed 
one of the greatest luinlici- m.-dung plants on 
the Upper Mississi|)jii River. At the forma- 
tion of this comjjany .Mr. Denkmann was 



elected ])resident, and this position of honor 
and responsibility lie held until his death. 

The business of the planing mills attached 
to the sawmills of the Rock Island Lumber & 
Manufacturing Company, grew to such an 
importance as to merit a separate organiza- 
tion and a sujiplemental company known as 
the Rock Island Sash ct Door Works was 
formed. Of this comjiany Mr. Denkmann 
was also the president. The latter com])any 
operated branches in other cities and covered 
a wide field. Another outgrowth of the Rock 
Islaiul Jjumber tt Manufacturing Company 
was a string of retail yards locate;! in import- 
ant town of Kansas and Oklahoma. 

One of the later jirojects of Mr. Deidcinann 
was the purchase and impi-oveinent of a mill 
in Davenjiort, Iowa, just across the ilis- 
sissiiipi River from the other mills operated 
by his firm. This mill dated back to 1854-5, 
when it was built by William Renwick. It 
was jnirchased by Mr. Denkmann and his 
partner in 1S8S. It was fitted u]i in the most 
a)ii)ro\-eil manner of the modern mill, and 
was in e\'ery respect a fine double band and 
gang mill. The product of this mill was u]i 
to Weyerhaeuser it Denkmann standards ami 
the Iowa meml)er of the local plant was giving 
good account of itself when a great fire on 
.luly 25, lOOl wrought its complete destruc- 
tion. This was the first great loss the firm 
had l)een called u])on to bear during its more 
than forty years of jirosperous business. The 
mill was not rebuilt. Its site is now occu|)ied 
by a large retail yard conducted by the firm. 

Clreat local manufacturers of lumber were 
Weyerhaeuser A- Denkmann. In the days 
when the C'hi])]iewa \-alley store of white pine 
seemed inexhaustiiile and -a fleet of raftboats 
was employed in bringing tows to the Rock 
Island mills, the output of lumber took on 
great pro])ortions, the product of the four 
mills for one year being 11 7, ()()(), 000 feet. The 
a\ei'age annual |iro<luction for a number (.f 
years was over 100, 000, 000 feet. In a Idition 
'to the mills in the cities of R )Ca Island and 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Davenport, the finn's mills in other parts of 
the country were s\vellin<!: the country's pi'n- 
duetion of hunl)er. 

At Rock Island the lower mill was oiierated 
by the i>artnershii.) until January N. 1903, 
when it was taken over by the cor|)oralion, 
Weyerhaeuser i^- Denkmann Comjiany. Of 
this corporation Mr. Denkmann was ]iresi- 
dent. 

It is natiual when writing of Mr. Denkmann 
to think of his firm in the liiiht of i;reat man\i- 
facturei's of Inmlicr. for it was the manufactur- 
ing industry of the lirni over which he early 
assumetl the direction, and that oversight \\v 
maintained until he was called from earth. 
In that line he excelled others in the same 
work. His early success was due greatlx' to 
his marvelous insight where machinery was 
concerned. Later, as the business grew, and 
mills multiplied, executive ability developed 
that was no less a mark and manifestati(ui ol' 
genius. He knew what a day's work for a 
nuui or a team or a steand>oat ought to be. 
He was satisfied when this was done, and the 
confidence of his army of employes was won 
by his fairness in giving credit for their co- 
oi)eratioii. Perhaps a man who has (hme 
many a day's woi-k himself is more comp(>ten( 
to .judge of that commodity as it is bought 
anil solil in the laboi' market. Mr. Denk- 
mann's expectat i<in of his em])loyes was high, 
but not unreasonal)ly so. He never required 
of them the hours and effort that he himself 
])ut into his enterprises. He was a leader and 
not a driver in the imlustrial woi'ld. 

The firm of which Mr. Denknumn was a 
member was a pioneer in the purchase of pine 
lands. The first tract secured was in the 
Chippewa \'alley. and the purchase was 
made after due consideration of its far-reach- 
ing results. It was the precedent, and its 
profit the argument f(u- the investment of 
great sums in standing tind>er. For matiy 
years it was the rule of the ftrm to buy 
available pine lands even at a price which 
made the investment seem undesirable to 



other hunbermcn. The result justified the 
judgment of Mr. Denkmann and his partner. 
The lumber sawed by the firm was from logs 
cut from forests owned by the firm, by men 
employed by the firm, and towe<l to the mills 
by steamlioats owned by the firm. Every 
pi'otit in the manufacture of lumljer was 
turneil into the annual dividends. 

This piu'chase of standing ]5ine has gone on 
steadily for years, on the system entered upon 
years ago. The transactions have been of 
such magnitude that the members of this 
(li-m are today the largest owners of jiine 
timber in this co\mlry. and therefore in the 
world. Standing timber was l>ought in Wis- 
consin, in Michigan, in .Minnesota. \'ast 
forests were ])urchased in Oregon, Idaho and 
Washington, one tract secured in the latter 
state by themselves and friends comprising 
1.(11)11,1)110 acres. Of late the firm has in- 
vestigated, at the rec[uest of large transpor- 
tation companies and others interested in 
the development of the South, the lumber 
])rospects of that I'egion and has added 
largely to its laml Imldings in that section. 
They are now heavy o])erat(U's in the South. 
It is probable that a list of all the tind)er 
holdings in wliich Mr. Denknumn was inter- 
ested could be compiled from the I'ei'ords of 
the firm. If so, it would fill ])ages of this 
work. 

Mr. Denkmann li\'ed to see his early ho]ies 
more than fulfilled. At 82 he laid down the 
responsibilities and pleasures of a long and 
busy life. The cares of his later years were 
lightened by his sons, Frederick C. Denk- 
mann and Edward P. Denkmann, who had 
mastered through early apprenticeshi].) the 
incidents and intricacies of the lundier l)usi- 
ness. They have shown ada])tability to their 
work and the initiatix'e and e.xecutive neces- 
sary in those who control such great interests. 
Oversight and mana.gement were so gradually 
shifted from tlie aging father to the sons that 
the business world was not affecte I by the 
passing of the inheritance. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Mrs. Catherine Denkinann, who survived 
her husband until January 15, 1907, was to 
him always his greatest incentive to success. 
He sought her advice and found her judgment 
sound on all liusiness matters. She kept in 
touch with his business. Their home life 
was ideal. Mr. Denkmann, after business 
cares were over, delighted to spend his time 
at home with his family. He was a great 
reader and would read aloud to his wife in 
their happy evenings together. Her ])leasure 
in having at hand mean.s with which to 
gratify her benevolent impulses was a con- 
stant gratification to him after the Denkmann 
home was fairly in the sunshine of ]jros]jerity. 

Mr. and Mrs. Denkmann were the parents 
of five daughters and two sons. They are: 
Marie Antoinette, wife of .John J. Reimers, of 
Fort Worth, Texas, a newspaper man; Ap- 
polonia Adelaide, wife of Thomas B. Davis, 
of Rock Island; Frederick C. Denkmann. of 
Rock Island; Elise Augusta, wife of Wm. H. 
Marshall, of Rock Island; Catherine, wife of 
Edward S. Wentworth, an artist, of New 
York; Edward P. Denkmann, of Rock Island, 
Illinois, and Susanne C. Denkmann, who 
lives in the old homestead in Rock Islanil. 

Those who associated with Frederick C. A. 
Denkmann and knew him well tell of his 
forceful but unobtrusive life, his active 
interest in matters of which he said l)ut 
little. He was not given to taking counsel of 
others or imparting confidences. His was 
ever a strong individuality. He took his 
own means of broadening and enriching his 
life. His kindness was often felt by those 
who did not know who had liefriended them. 
Mr. Denkmann preferred to have it so. He 
was a man of deeds, a tireless worker, a man 
of cjuiet habits and modest demeanor. He 
bore his part in building his city and making 
it beautiful. His wealth was fairly won in 
the open field of Vmsiness competition, and 
he deserved whatever rewards it brought. 
All in all he was a type of man it is good for 
voung Americans to know about. 



FREDERICK WEYERHAEUSER. 

SHOULD a search be made throughout the 
length and breadth of the United States, 
no fairer or finer exam]ile of the self-made 
American could lie found than Frederick 
Weyerhaeuser, lumberman. Brought by 
chance, in early manhood, in touch with the 
making of lumber he seized upon this acci- 
dental circumstance as upon an o])portunity. 
mastereil the rudiments with a thoroughness 
that has characterized his. every action in 
life, and upon this practical knowledge 
budded his excei)tional business career. One 
by one he saw the possibilities as they opened 
before him. Each possibility became to him 
a probability and was made a certainty. 
He mastered in turn tiie details of lumber 
manufacture and sale of tlie ]nirchase and 
economical utilization of jiine lands, of log 
sup])ly in its branche.s — cutting, .sorting and 
rafting to the mills, details of the building and 
maintenance of railroads for logging and 
marketing mill products, of the operation of 
the various industries sul>sidiary and supple- 
mental to the i)rincii)al business of lumber 
manufacture. Incidentally he became a 
financier and has been chosen for his udg- 
ment to advise and direct great institutions 
of the financial world. 

His career is so interwoven with tlie growth 
of the great white-jiine industry of the North 
that it would lie difiicult to make reference 
to any chapter in the history of lumbering in 
that region without mentioning his name. 

The story of Frederick Weyerhaeuser's life 
is so remarkable in its incidents and yet so 
rational and consistent in the developmental 
secjuence of its events that its telling in very 
truth would seem like the creation of some 
master mind in the realm of fiction. The 
story of his business career, the part he has 
taken in the development of the Northwest 
will never be fully known, for such a narra- 
tion would be of necessity an autobiography, 
and Mr. Weyerhaeuser is the last man who 



HISTORIC ROCK I S L A N D COUNT Y 



could he indiiceil to tell of his ;u-hie\-ements the little villa,iie with the loiifi name was one 

in detail. Shoidd he serve as his own his- of the llonian walled cities that the world- 

torian. short and simple would Ijc the annals. conquerors scattered over (lermany. It is 

His is not the disposition to tell of tlie )iro- in the midst of a lieautiful agricultural refjion. 

digious industry and unerrinij; discernment The ancestors of Mr. Weyerhaeuser were 

which has made it possible to launch ami farmers and vine-dressers. I-'ai- yonder to- 

huild up countless industries, amass great ward the dark ages, some four hundred years 

wealtli and extend the fiekl of his usefulness ago, tradition has it the Weyerhaeusers came 

until it has covered the entire country. ivom Western (icrmany to settle in Nieder- 

To intimate friends 'Sir. \\'eyerhaeuser saulheim, John Weyerhaeuser, the father 
sometimes talks of himself, but the topics are of Frederick Weyerhaeuser, was one of the 
a]it to relate to his boyhood in (lermany, his soliil men of the village, owning a fifteen acre 
emigration to America, his early trials and fai-m and a tlu-ee acre vineyard. He died at 
deprivations, his determination to do every the age of tifty-two, October li, 1S40, when 
task assigned him so well that the confidence I'^rederick was about twelve years old. 
of his employer could be gained and advance- There were children in the Weyerhaeuser 
ment honestly won. More particularly would home at Niedersaulheim— eleven of them, 
he wi'ite, if his hand held the biogra]jhical Frederick and foui' sisters survived the 
)ien, anil he were sure of friendly interest in others and reached maturity. When a little 
those who read, of his days in a little Illinois fellow of six he was sent to the Protestant 
town where on a small salary he and his bride school. The essential foundations of an 
en.joyed existence as only young people education were ])roviiled by his teachers and 
happily marrieil and hopefid of the futm-e can a pro])er gi'ounding in religious truths also 
enjoy it. He wcndd tell of his beautiful home loidved after. Mr. Weyerhaeuser remendiers 
life, of his wife and family and cherished that each Wei.lnesday and Saturday afternoon 
friends. He would tell of his desire for sim- was devoted in the study of the Hible and the 
]:)licitv in li\'ing and freedom from the burden church catechism. At eight years of a.!ie he 
of social oljligation that wealth often brings. commenced work upon the farm hel|)ing 
To his closest friends he might speak of his abtiut such tasks as his strength permitted 
interest in other men, the younger ones .just and received his first valuable lessons in 
putting their slioulders to the wheel, in the rcs])onsibility. Four years later the death of 
older ones, those who liaxc done their best iiis father nuide necessary the shortening of 
and yet have failed of substantial rewards his school life and he took upon himself a 
which have been his own. Frederick Weyer- large ])art of the work of the farm and vine- 
haeuser is a man whose business success has yai'd. In life's school the boy was learning 
been noteworthy even in this comitry where other lessons than those in books, lessons of 
a large measure of success is not uncommon. accom|)lishment, of i'elial)ility, of self con- 
He has another side upon which his friends Hdence. That he learned them well his sub- 
delight to dwell. It is I''rederick Weyer- secpient success testifies. An incident of his 
haeuser. the good citizen, the admirable boyhood life was his confirnuition in the 
neighbor, the kind and sympathizing friend, (lei'man Reformed ( hnrch at the age of 
that his old associates in Hock Island hold in fourteen. It might be remarked in this con- 
high re,t!;ard. nection that after coming to this country Mr. 

l''|-edeiick Weyerhaeusei' is a natix'e of \\'eyerhaeuser attendeil the Lutheran ( hurch 

Xiedersanlheim, a village of the Rhine valley, anil that since his home has been in St. Pavd he 

situated near the cil\- of Mainz. Long ago has been allieil with the Presljyterian rhurcii. 



?6 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



During ;\Ir. Weyerhaeiiser's boyhood days 
the thoughts of the peo])le of this German 
village were turning toward America. In the 
Rhine valley farming land was high in price 
and the chance for bettering one's condition 
small. The United States came to be looked 
upon as the land of promise, a land where 
there were broad acres, climatic conditions 
not unlike those of Germany and a chance for 
every man. One of Mr. Weyerhaeuser's older 
sisters and an aunt made a pilgrimage across 
the water in 1849 and settled in Western 
Pennsylvania. Their letters turned the long- 
ings of the remainder of the family into 
determination, and in 1S52 they followed to 
the land of ojiportunity. The party which 
included Frederick, then a sturdy youth of 
eighteen, landed in New York Gity in July of 
that year and proceeded to Western Penn- 
sylvania, where settlement was made at 
Northeast, a small place al)out fifteen miles 
from Erie. 

In this new land the strong boy, trained to 
work on the farm in the Fatherland, and not 
afraid of responsibility, turned his attention 
to any task that offered and they were of all 
sorts. At one time he fancied learning the 
trade of a brewer and entered the emjiloy- 
ment of a relative engaged in brewing. The 
first year he received $4 a month; the second 
and last, $9 a month. The employment was 
not congenial. Next he tried farming, and 
hired out for a .year at $13 a month and board. 
Had any admirer of Frederick We3-erhaeuser 
at this stage of his life predicted the brilliant 
future that he has since exjierienced, the 
prophecy would have been considered as im- 
possible as it was ingenious. So does truth 
outfi('tion fiction in building the biograi>liy of 
a successful man. 

The ancestral farm in Germany having 
been sold, Mr. Weyerhaeuser, with his share 
of the i)roceeds came to the West and to Rock 
Island, where he arrived in March, 1856. If 
he at this time glimpsed the future, and saw- 
how broadlj' his name would be written 



across the commercial life of this thriving 
western town, he ke]it his fancies to himself. 
True to his former habits of industry he took 
the first worthy occupation that offered and 
went to work on the construction of the Rock 
Island ct Peoria Railway, now a part of the 
Rock Island System. Soon after he took 
what seemed a better position, that of night 
fireman at the sawmill operated by Mead, 
Smith & Marsh, in Rock Island. Here, then, 
was the first round of the ladder that led to 
advancement in the lumber world, that led 
to wealth and influence and jiower. From 
that lowly first foothold tlie climb was steady, 
certain and swift. 

Two days after he took this ])osition at the 
mill tlie night shift was laid off; not so the 
new fireman. It had taken only two days to 
show his employers a touch of his quality and 
he was retained and made tallyman. In this 
]iosition his duties included keeping account 
of the out]3ut of the one ratory and one mulay 
saw that formed the vital equipment of the 
mill and also loading the boards upon trucks. 
Here he more than earned his wages and 
established himself with his employers. One 
day at noon some farmers came to the mill 
to buy lumber. The salesmen and those in 
charge were away. The tallynuxn ]iushed his 
lunch bucket to one side, and with the Weyer- 
haeuser judgment which has since stood its 
owner in good stead filled the farmers' orders 
antl turned the $60 in gold he had received 
over to the salesman when he returned from 
dinner. Mr. Marsh approved the sale and 
noted the young German tallyman's readiness 
and judgment in an emergency. The self- 
reliance and efficiency manifested in this 
incident brought about Mr. Weyerhaeuser's 
being soon given charge of the yard and local 
sales. 

While in the employ of Mead, Smith & 
.Marsh the hap]nest event in Mr. Wej'er- 
haeuser's eventful life occurred, his nuu'riageto 
Miss Sarah Klizabeth Bloedel. This young lady 
came from her home in Erie, Pennsylvania. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



77 



early in isr)7. t<i visit lior sister, Mi's. F. ('. A. 
Deiikniaiiii. She was from Mi-. Weyer- 
haeuser's native village. Tiie i)(iiiii of interest 
this created (lee[)eneii in intensity and 
ripened into hixc. Six iminths ialer her cdii- 
senf to marriage was won and the ceremony 
took place October 11. Fil'ty years hiter, in 
Octolier, 1'.)(17, the i;olden weddiii,u' was cele- 
brated by Mr. and .Mrs. Weyerhaeuser, with 
the lovinn aiul joyous aid of ciiildrcn and 
firandciiildren at the old home. Hock Island. 
The first ceremony was a sim|)le one. To its 
goUleii anniversary metropolitan newspapers 
sent jiicked men to report and illustrate this 
event. 

In December of the year iNoT, .Mead, Smith 
& Marsh opened a lumber yard in Coal \'alley. 
Illinois, a tlonrishiiif!; town to which the new- 
railroad liad just been com|)leted and which 
was advantageously located in a fine farminj;- 
community. Mr. Weyerhaeuser was given 
charge of this venture which |iroved a ])roiit- 
ahle one. \\'hile he was gaining \-aluable 
experience and knowledge of the demands of 
lumber ])urchasers his employing firm were 
nearing financial straits which finally resulteil 
in such embarrassment that their assets were 
pui-(-liased by Mr. Weyerhaeuser as he was 
able from time t<i time until he was fairly 
embarked in the lumber business for himself 
and in his own name. This was a time of 
finam-ial unrest the country over and the 
modest financial craft just launched was in 
danger for some months with others that 
went down. 

Coming to Rock Island to secure lumber for 
his Coal A'alley yard .Mr. Weyerhaeuser 
formetl the plan of ojierafing the unused mill 
of his former employers. A raft was bought: 
in Davenport and the idle saws bit into Wey- 
erhaeuser logs. The lumber was lai<l down 
in Coal \'alley at a cost of $.S per thousand 
feet. There was a good margin in the sale of 
this lumber, and when this was added to the 
profits of Mr. Weyerhaeuser 's operations as a 
buikling contractor and grain buyer, the new 



business man was delighted to find that dur- 
ing the latter nine months of l<sr)<» he had 
cleared SS.OOO and during 1S60, ?5,()l)(). 

When the affairs of Mead. Smith ^- Marsh 
were closed up and the old mill put upon the 
market at a modest figure, w-ith a small sum 
of cash reipiired to bind the bargain, a part- 
nership was formed between Mr. Weyer- 
haeuser and his brother-in-law, F. C. A. Denk- 
niann, then conducting a grocery store in 
Rock Island. The mill w-as purcha.sed and 
the futtu'e-great firm of Weyerhaeiiser iV 
Denkmann commenced oj-ierations. In two 
years the mill had freeil itself from imcum- 
brance. Its cajKicity was steadily increased 
and in a few years reached an annual output 
of fnnn ;5, 001). 1)00 feet to 10,000,000 feet. 

The ever increasing lumber business of the 
firm did not engro.ss their entire attention. 
Mr. Weyerhaeuser was interested in a number 
of enterprises in the years succeeding the 
purchase of the mill. He owned a ]iart of a 
flouring mill at Coal A'alley. He and Mr. 
Denkmann had ;in interest in a woolen mill. 
In 1.S7I the Coal \'alley business was put in 
charge of an emjiloye and Mr. Weyerhaeuser 
moved to Rock Island. 

Betw-een the years ISoS and f,S71 the foun- 
dations of the great l.uisiness of luml.)ering 
afterward carried on by the firm were laid 
broad and deep. The personal characteristics 
of the members of the firm made their asso- 
ciation mutually beneficial. Mr. Denkmann, 
a fine mechanic, took charge of the mills and 
suriiKMinted all the mechanical dillic-ult ies of 
mamifacture. Like his jiartner he was pos- 
sessed of great vigor and executive ability. 
Mr. Weyerhaeuser's natural abilities and 
training made him a great salesman, one who 
knew- intimately the wants of customers. His 
genius in providing a com|ietent log su])ply 
for the mills w-as also early a])parent. He 
was not content w-ith the method of ))urchase 
from log drivers then in vogue. He saw that 
a mill to succeed must lie backed l)v adequate 
stumj)age and took hold of that problem. He 



78 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



went into the woods and Vwcd witli the 
himberjacks. He learned how to buy timber 
and estimate timber lands. 

In the northern woods be became endowed 
with projihetic vision, and cast an anchor to 
windward, as the sailors say. With the co- 
operation of his partner, the firm of Weyer- 
haeiLser it Denkmann inaugurated their 
policy of piu'chasing pine lands. Great tracts 
were bought on the Chippewa River and its 
tributaries. Other lumbermen did likewise. 
Logs cut at the different cam])s floated down 
the stream in confusion. The necessity for 
sorting the logs of difTerent owners led to the 
organization of the Mississijipi River Logging 
Company at Chicago, following a meeting of 
conference attended by representative Ivun- 
ber men of the Northwest, December 28, 1870. 
This company was destined to occupy a 
great field in the white ])ine industry. The 
logs of stockholders were sorted at great 
logging works at Jieef Slough, Wisconsin, and 
at West Newton, Minnesota. Logs were 
purchased by the comjiany from the various 
stockholders. These logs naturally varied in 
quality and value. The task of grading and 
pricing these logs and apportioning the 
credits to be given the different stockholders 
was deputed to a committee of which Mr. 
Weyerhaeuser was the chairman and execu- 
tive. That his associates felt entire confi- 
dence in his u|irightness and fairness needs no 
other ]jroof. Mr. Weyerhaeuser has been the 
president of the Mississippi River Logging 
Company since September 5, 1872. 

P'rom the time when the log supply was 
planned, secured and safegiuirded, the busi- 
ness of Weyerhaeuser & Denkmann grew 
with its growth and strengthened with its 
strength. Each gain in breadth of operation 
revealed still other fields where development 
was possible. Other mills were added to the 
ecpiipment. Timber lands were purchased in 
other parts of the coimtry and mills estab- 
lished to work the logs into lumber. A list 
of the corporations and comj)anies in which 



Mr. Weyerhaeuser has held an interest and 
official position would be an astounding revel- 
ation of the man's breadth of executive ability 
ami l.nisiness acumen. 

He has always been a consistent follower of 
his theory formed years ago that the pur- 
chase of pine land was always the best thing 
a lumberman could do. This plan he has 
followed even after pine land had gone to a 
figure where further advancement seemed 
unlikely. He is quoted as saying to a friend 
who doulited the wisdom of a purchase where 
the ])rice seemed ])rohibitive of profit: "I 
know this much: Whenever I buy timber, I 
make a profit; whenever I do not buy, I miss 
an o])iiortunity. I have followed this practice 
for many years and have not lost anything 
by it." 

Another notable feature of Mr. Wever- 
haeuser's business policy has been his belief 
in co-operation. This princi])le he has always 
employed. It has reduced the cost of pro- 
duction by sharing with competitors any 
general and necessary expense. It has elim- 
inated friction and promoted a cordial under- 
standing among men engaged in the same line 
of business. If he has at any time planned a 
large deal, others have been invited to share 
in the development of the plan and in the 
profits. This dis])osition has won for him not 
only the respect but also the warm regard of 
associates in the lumber inilustry. 

The habits of a lifetime of industry are not 
lightly shaken off. Although the necessity 
for work long ago disappeared, Mr. Weyer- 
haeuser is devoted to his business. There is 
much in organization and execution beside 
the piling up of wealth. There is a joy in 
accomplishment, and it is this that has kept 
Mr. Weyerhaeuser from seeking a life of ease 
which to him would be not only inglorious but 
distasteful. He is still Frederick Weyer- 
haeuser, lumberman, and it is easy to predict 
that he will never write "retired" after his 
signature. Since his removal to St. Paul 
from Rock Island, a step made desirable by 




ROBERT S. MONTGOMERY. 



// / ,S T () R I C ROC K I S L AND (' U N T Y 



79 



the locatidii of liis iic^oi- Ikhho in the field of 
iiis operatimis, he lias licccuiie a iiienii)er of 
the Town and Connti'v. tiie ("oniniercial and 
ihe Minnesota Cluhs, Imt his time is .spent at 
his office or in the society of his wife at 
home. 

To Mrs. Weyerhaeuser, the friends of the 
family who iiave known the Weyerhaeusers 
lonficst anil liest aserilie a splendid share in 
the credit for the sticcess which lias crownerl 
the modest bnsiiiess beiiinnin.ns in Rock Island 
a half century a,!io. No man ever had a more 
judicious advisor, say those who know, than 
this same wife who mingled with her common 
sense advice at business crises the steady 
encourafjement of love and thoutiht fulness. 
Mr. Weyerhaeuser has also had the invalualile 
assistance of late years of his four sons, all 
luii-ii and l)red in the luml)ei' business. When 
iIk' character of these lieutenants in charge 
of the outposts an(.l animated by the same 
loyalty to the Weyerhaeuser interests that 
has ins])ired their founder is considered, the 
credit foi' a lai'go share of recent success is 
.•ippai'ent. 

Seven children have been born to .Mr. and 
.Mi's. Weyerhaeuser. The elilest is .lohn ]'. 
Weyerhaeuser, now managing the Nebagamon 
Lumber ('om|)any, I^ake Nebagamon, Wis- 
consin. 

A daughter, i']lise. is tlie wife of Dr. William 
Bancroft Hill, a mend)er of the faculty of 
X'assar College. 

A daughter, Margaret, now Mrs. J. R. 
.lewett, lives in ("hicago. Her husband is a 
professor of the Semitic langmiges in the 
University of Chicago. 

A daughter, Apollonia, is Mrs. S. S. ])a\'is, 
of Piiick Island. .Mr. l):i\is is one of Hock 
Island's successfid Ijusiness men. 

A son, Charles A. Weyerhaeuser, made his 
reputation as a lumberman in the manage- 
ment of the Pine Tree Lumber Company of 
Minnesota. He is now ]ii'esident of the Pot- 
latch Lumber Company, witli mills in Wash- 
imiton. 



A son, Rudolpli M. Weyerhaeuser, is in 
charge of the great interests at Cloquet, Minn. 

A son, Fredei'ick Iv Weyerhaeuser, after 
experience at t'locpiet and in the South in 
hnnber manufacture, is now al St. Paul ser\-- 
ing the family interests as pi'incipal assistant 
to his father. 

The greatest tribute paid to the nnin, I'^red- 
erick Weyerhaeuser, is the love and admira- 
tion of his old friends and neighbors at Rock 
Island. They esteem him for ])ersonal qual- 
ities of exceptional sort, for his upright 
character and foi- his willingness that all 
should prosper, e\en as he hasclone. 

■ % m m 
ROBERT S. MONTGOMERY. 

FOR a [leriod of over 35 years the subject 
of this sketch was one of the leading 
farmers of Rock Island county. His 
farm was one of the largest and best inider 
the highest state of cultivation, while the 
improvements upon it were among the finest 
and latest in design. Not only was the 
ownei' a leader in agricultural, but he was 
likewise foremost among his fellow men, in 
church, in politics, and in society. His sons 
and daughters, following the exam])le he set 
for them, grew into useful men and women 
and went mit to lill responsible positions in 
the world. 

Robert Simington .Montgomery was born 
■Mai'ch .'ill, \S'M). at Danville, I'eniisylvania, 
and died .lanuary 6, 1 !»)(). at his homesteaxl 
on section 26. Kdgington Township. He wa''^ 
a son of Daniel and .Margaret (Simington) 
-Montgomery, natives of the Keystone state, 
but residents of I^xds Island Coimty from the 
ye.ar in which the son was born. The father 
became one of the chief landholders of the 
community, entering 1 .()()() acres from the 
goxernment where the homestead stoinl. He 
also ac(]uired a section of land lying to the 
south and several other farms in the county, 
besides a considei'able tract in the vicinity of 
.loliel. The father died in 1.S4!) at the age of 



80 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



45 and his two sons, R()l.)ert and Daniel, 
succeeded to his landed interests. Both im- 
proved the opportunity thus opened to them 
and both were successful in the highest 
degree. 

Our subject attended the public schools 
and supplemented them with a collegiate 
course at Macomb, Illinois, after which he 
returned to the farm upon which he had been 
reared, and spent practically all his life there. 
At the opening of the civil war he organized 
Company B of the 65th Illinois Volimteer 
Infantry and was elected captain. In this 
capacity he served throughout the conflict, 
being thrice woimded and seeing the hardest 
.sort of duty. He took part in the Atlanta 
campaign and in that in Tennessee. He was 
in the siege of Knoxville and was taken 
prisoner, together with his company, at Harp- 
er's Ferry, but was paroled on the field and 
returned to Camp Douglas, Chicago. On 
being exchanged he rejoined the army in 
Kentucky and remained there till the end of 
the war. Wounds were received at Lexing- 
ton, in front of Atlanta, and at Cohimbus, 
Tennessee. The first year after the war Mr. 
Montgomery spent in the .oil fields of Penn- 
sylvania. Then he returned to Illinois and 
resumed farming, which occupation lie con- 
tinued to follow actively till his death. 

Mr. Montgomery was one of the leading 
members and supporters of the Edgington 
Presbyterian church, long rated as one of the 
finest country churches in the state. He 
supported the ]irinciples of the Republican 
party from the time when he attained the 
voting age. He was never an ofiice seeker, 
but was twice honored with election as 
meml)er of the board of supervisors and for 
a numlier of years was school director. 
Fraternally he affiliated with the Masons. 

The marriage of the subject of this sketch 
to Miss Jane Titterington took place June 
23, 1869. His wife, a daughter of James and 
Eleanor (Beall) Titterington, was like him- 
self, one of the early settlers of the com- 



munity. Nine children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Montgomery: Alexander Boyd, now a 
practicing physician at Checota, Indian Ter- 
ritory; Elizabeth Simingtdn, now Mrs. William 
McLean Stewart, of Tishomingo, Indian Ter- 
ritory; Anne Beall, now Mrs. Frank W. 
Bahnsen, of Rock Island, Illinois; Margaret 
J., now Mrs. Louis Cole Maynard, of Dallas, 
Texas; Eleanor Ruth, now Mrs. Edward K. 
Cherrill, of New York City; Louisa Reed; 
Daniel T. ; James Howard, now in the lumber 
business at Belle Fourche, South Dakota; and 
Thomas Candor. Daniel, who was a mining 
engineer and a young man of great promise, 
died October 30, 1907, in A'entanas, State of 
Durango, Mexico. 

HON. HENRY C. SCHAFFER 

ROCK ISLAND is an exceedingly pros- 
perous and well governed city. Its 
municipal prosperity must be attributed 
in a great degree to the business like and 
economical administration of the city's affairs. 
Its good government must be attrii)uted 
likewise to the enforcement of law and the 
peservation of order, so essential in every 
well regulated community, l>y the city's 
chief executive. Mayor Henry C. Schaffer, the 
subject of our present sketch. 

Henry C. Schaffer was born Octol)er 16, 
1851, at Baltimore, Maryland, his parents 
being Conrad and Mary (Hoffmeister) Schaffer 
Both his parents were natives of Germany. 
Their son received his education in the public 
schools of his native city. One incident of 
his boyhood is noteworthy, as showing the 
early development of these traits of character 
which were to become so prono\mced in the 
man. When the Confederate fieneral, Jubai 
Early, threatened the City of Washington 
with an attack, Henry C. Schaffer was a lad 
thirteen years of age. He was a drummer 
boy in the Baltimore Home Guards, a comp- 
any similar to that organized in almost every 
city of any size at that time. The threatened 




HENRY C. SCHAFFHH 



IIISTOHIC RUCK ISLAXD COUNTY 



81 



(Icsti-uct loii 111' \\'asliiiii;tiiii tlircw Hnit iiiinrc 
into :i I'icnzy (if cxritement. Tlie company 
i)f which Henry Schaffer was the drunmier 
liciy was ninliilized, tnKefher with many other 
.Mai'\'lan(l companies for tlie pnrpose of re- 
jiellinii tin' threatened Confederate in\'asion. 
The hid, too yoiins f" accompany his com- 
rades without parental consent, which it was 
impossible for him to olitain, I'an away from 
home to enter the service of his country. 

After the completion of his course in the 
Baltimore Public Schools. Henry (". Schaffer 
took up a commercial course and became an 
ex])ert accountant. This profession he fol- 
lowed for a number of years in Chicajio. In 
1878 he came to Rock Island with 0. H. 
Watson, the owner of the Rock Island Glass 
Factory. Here he was em[)loved as a l:)ook- 
keeper ;i,t the sl^iss factory, and later was 
promoted to sui)erintendent of that industry. 
This latter )iosition he held until the factory- 
was jiurchased by the (llass Trust and closed. 
In 1X02 Mr. Schaffer entered the employ of 
.lohn \'olk i\; Comjiany as bookkeejjer Here 
he remained until IN!)'.), when he was elected 
city clerk, Im-oui that time until the jiresent 
Mr. Schatt'er's life has been essentially a 
political one, and to continue our sketch in 
an orderly fashion we must now take u]) his 
political career. 

.Mr. Scliaffer's political alliliation is with 
the Re]iulilican pai'ty, in whose ranks he has 
done much effective work. His |iolitical 
career in Rock Inland beiian in INS.") wlien he 
was electeil a member of tlie City Council. 
He served two terms as alderman, retiring; 
from the City Council in 1889. As has been 
stated, he remained in the employ of ,Tohn 
\'olk A' Comjiany from 1892 until 1S99, when 
he was elected city clerk of Rock Island. To 
this office he brought a thorough knowledge 
of accounting and an ajjtitude for systema- 
tizing. This latter rpiality es])ecially has 
saved for the city many thousands of dollars. 
He systematized the collection of water rents, 
and as a result the re\'enues of (he \\'ater- 



wdrks Department ha\'e bet^i \astl\' inci-eased. 
As city clerk he husbanded tlie city's resources, 
insisted strenuously upon economy in ex- 
penditures and stood hi'mly against the 
incurring of obligations where the way to 
meet them did n<it seem clear. He held the 
oliice of city clerk from 1 S99 until the year 
1907, when the people of Rock Islaiiil 
showed their confidence in the imswer\iiig 
integrity of the man, and tlieii- apprecation 
of his services as city clerk, by electing him 
mayor of the city by a handsome majoritv. 
As mayor, Mr. Schaff'ei' is ipiietly, and in his 
usual unassuming manner, carrying on those 
same well-founded policies of svstematic 
econoni)' thnnigli wise expenditure that 
made his administrations as city clerk a 
success. He is giving Rind< Island an effec- 
tive, clean and sane administration, an 
administration of which every citizen of Rock 
Island, regardless of |H)litics, may be proud. 
Mr. Scliaffer's cai-eer as mayor was initiated 
by the bringing about of some much needed 
I'eforms in the municipal government. Those 
reforms, liowe\'er, have been not nierelv 
s])asmodic. but ha\'e lieen carried on con- 
sistently anil coiiscienl iouslv. 

On December '_'('), 1,S7S, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Schaffer and Miss K. F. 
Delveaux at Im.lianapoiis, Indiana. Five 
children were born of this marriage, two 
daughters and th'-ee sons, Ii!a Hawkins, 
Fsther F^lcock, Harley W., Carl H., and 
Henry C. Schaffer. The death of one of the 
sons. Henry C. Schaffer. his father's name- 
sake, occurred Se|)teniber 30, 1891. Mr. 
Schaffer was liereaved by the death of his 
wife August 23, 1891. On September 19, 
1S95. Mr. Schaffer was united in marriage 
to Miss Catherine J. McC^uade of Rock Island. 
One child, a son, C. Harry Schaffei", lias been 
born to them. 

Mr. Schaffer is an .adherent to the Lutheran 
faith, anil is a menibei- of that church. In 
his fraternal connections he is a memlier of 
(he l';iks and f the Knights of I'vthias. 



82 



// / N T () R I (■ R O (' K I S LAND CO U N T Y 



But little more can be said of this man's 
honorable career, which is now in its zenith. 
He has enjoyed, is enjoying' and will continue 
to enjoy the confidence and respect of the 
|)eo]3le of his city. The citizens of Rock 
Island have repeatedly sliown their sincere 
appreciation of Mr. Schaffer's nntirinfi in- 
dustry and sterling integrity. He was an 
ideal city clerk and he is an ideal mayor. 
He has the reins of city government firndy 
in hand, and his administration .so far has 
l)een a wise and just one. There is every 
reason to feel assureil that there will be no 
departure from that course. , His executive 
ability is of a high order, lioth in his official 
and in his private life Henry C. Schaffer 
deserves and has the highest esteem of his 
fellow men. 

n n n 
WILLIAM FISK EASTMAN. 

VWVII.LIAM FISKK EASTMAN, co-editor 
^^ with P. S. McGlynn, of the Moline 
Daily Dispatch and Weekly Rcvicw- 
Dispatch, and postmaster of Moline, was born 
in Ellisburg, Jefferson Comity, New York. 
November 11, 1844. His ]iarents were 
( harle.s W. Elastman, Doctor of Medicine, 
and Cynthia (Fiske) Eastman. He attended 
the ])nblic schools of his native village and 
I'nion Academy in the neighboring village of 
Belleville. Ciraduating there he attended Un- 
ion College at Schnectady, New York, gradua- 
ting in the scientific course in 1S66, and taking 
first honors of that course. In the meantime 
he had been teaching in the district schools, 
earning in this way and by conducting a book 
store in his room at college, the money that 
paid for his college course. 

.After graduating he caiiic West and taught 
ill tli(> schools of .M;i(iiioketa, Iowa, and 
Stciling and I'liion (li'ove, Illinois, expecting 
to devote his life to that woi-k. In 1872 his 
health broke down and he sought other 
business, lie purclias(>i| the Red Oak (Iowa) 
/i.r/jrcs.s and conducted it a feu mouths when 



there came a proposition which he acceptecL 
to go back to Sterling and purchase a half 
interest in the Sterling Gazette. He held his 
half interest in this for nearly ten years when 
he sold it because his health again broke down. 

He then went to Huron, South Dakota, 
where he engaged in banking with a jiartner, 
s])ending his own time on a farm about 
twenty miles away, his partner taking charge 
of the bank. Unfortunately the business 
was mismanaged and in .Tune. 18S5, he was 
left without anything he could call his own. 
After a few months spent on the farm, at the 
same time being editor of the Dakota Farmer, 
he returned to Sterling to the employ of the 
Sterling Gazette. He later was editor of the 
Farmer's Budget (jf that city and condvicted 
a jol) printing sho]i. 

In .April, 1S89. he came to Moline as a 
third owner of the Western Pleiteman. which 
interest he held for twenty months, when he 
became interested in the Moline Dispateli. 
In .Tune, 1S9(), the Moline Dispatch Publish- 
ing Company was organized with Mr. Mc- 
Cilynn as president and • Mi'. Ivistman as 
secretary and co-editors of the ])ai)er. To 
comi_)ly \\\\\\ the state laws i'e(|uiring at least 
three stockholders in a corporation, Mrs. 
Ivistman and Mrs. McCdynn l)ecame stock- 
holders, and these our have owned and con- 
trolled all the stock from that time. Under 
this control it has grown to be one of the 
strong ])apers of Northern Illinois, with a 
circulation and advertising patronage prob- 
ably not exceeded by any jiaper in the State 
in a city of the iiopulation of Moline. The 
jiaper has been Re])ublican in jiolitics and 
uncompromisingly in favor of temjierance 
and all other reforms. 

Mr. Eastman has been married twice. His 
first marriage was to Miss P^rances J. Atlams, 
of Sterling, June 18, 1872. She died Febru- 
ary 22, 1876, and J\me 8, 1880, he married 
Miss Myra F. Christopher, daughter of .John 
(Jarrison ;ind Chloe Brewster Christopher, of 
P>\'ron, IHiiiois. Their onlv daughter. Louise C, 



// / S T () R I (• ROC K I S L . I A' /; C ' V N T Y S;? 

was horn ( )cl()l)ci' 'Js. 1 ssl . ill Stciiiiia;. Illinois, Ho was licirii Xcnciiilior 7, ISoo. at l{(ick 

She ,ur:iiiuaf(Ml at the Mdiiiic Hitili ScIkhiI Islaml, his fatlici' licinij,- (Icoroe .Mixtoi', a 

and al tlu' State Inivcrsity nf Xelirasi<a. sivclcli of whose hl'e appeal's upon aiiiith(M' 

Mrs. Ivistman was imrii .Ma\ 1(1, IS.iO. at pa.iii". His mother was Susan I'Mizalielh 

Hyi'on. Her father's ancestry reaches liack (dilheit) Mixtei'. The fi'enealogical record of 

to the Dutch merchantmen of New \"oi-k, lioth the .Mixfer .and the riilhert families 

and liei- mother's to Hrewster Bradford and .appeai-s in the sketch of our sulijecf's fafher, 

H(ip]<iiis of the Mayflower ])ilf!;rims. She ( leorfje Mixfer, 

was a teacher after Ki'iiduatin.ii' from the imlilic I'rank Mixter's eai-|\- eilucation w .as oh- 

schools of liyron. and was in the schools of tained in the puMic schools of his nalix'e 

St(>rliii,u several years Ijefore her inarriafie. City. ;ind after iirailual in<;- from the Hi.iili 

Mr. I'^astnum's ancestry is Entilish, ,aiid School he entered the rni\'ersit\- of Heidel- 

comprises such names .anionn the early hei'ii. at Heidelhei'n'. (!ei'nian\'. for a y^ar. 

settlei's of this country as Williani lirewster, With the exception of that one year at 

.lohn Dwi.nht, Nathaniel Fairbanks and Henry Heidell>er<i-, Mi-. .Mixtei- has made fiis Ikuiio 

Adams. Daniel Fiske, his great grandfather, continuously in i{ock Islaml to the present 

was a surgeon at the battle of Hunker Hill. lime. 

and a corresponding ancestor on his father's On .Vpril .'>. 1N77. he was m.-irried at South- 
side, .lared Chittenden, wa.s in the Kevolu- ]ioi-t . Connecticut . to .Miss l-nizabeth Hradley. 
tionary Army from 177') to the battle of Soutlipxirt being her birthplace ami home. 
\'orktown. His father was in the Army of Her forbears were the old Colonial famil\- of 
the I'nion and was detailed as a surgeon at Bradleys and Sherwdods, and she is now 
Camp Dennison, Ohio, where he remained Jlegent of Fort Armstrong Chapter, Daughters 
on duly some mouths after his term of enlist- of the Ameriean Re\-olution. Two children 
inent ex|)ired. have been born to .Mr. and .Mrs. .Mixter. ;i 

In politics Mr. Eastman is a Republican. daughter. Florence Louisa, now the wife of 

He has been on the city and county com- k'rederick Hro-wn Wells, whose birthplace ami 

mittees of his ]iarty and was chairman of early h(une was ;dso S(Mithport. Connecticut, 

the county committee in the strenuous cam- Mr. ami .Mrs. Wells now live at Mount A'ernon. 

paigii of lS!)(i. He became postmaster of New "^'ork. A son, Willi,-im F.radley Mixter, 

Moline, March 1, 1906. graduated at Vale Scieutihc School in 1 !)(!.") 

.Mr. Ivistman is a member of the Chri.stian with the Degree of Hachelor of Philosophy, 

Church. He belonged to the church at Rock and from tlie Vah^ College with the Degree 

Island for many years after coming to of Bachelor of .-Krts. He is now in the 

.Moline. and was on its board of officers for employ of the Westinghouse Electrical Coiii- 

seventeen years, and chairman f(u- six years. pany at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 

resigning to assist in the organization of a .Mr. .Mixter has been, and is. a successful 

church of that faith in .Moline. business man. He is president of the Rock 

ig iS; .f:': Island Stove Company, and also of the Rock 

FRANK MIXTER. ';'"';' '^T' ,f T.T' , p,' '^ "'" ' 

director in the Rock Island Plow ( ompanv. 

0.\ E of the chief industrial iipbiiilders of It is to the Rock Islaml Stove Company. 

Pvoi'k Island, a man who. as president liowe\er. that Mr. .Mixter devotes the most 

of two of the City's manufactories, has of his time, an industry that is constantly 

pro\-en his ability both as an organizer and growing and whose (Uitput is distributed 

an executive, is Frank .Mixter. throiinlKuit a larije territorv. 



84 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



He is a consistent niemlier of liroadway 
Presbyterian Clmrcli. tiie ciiurch at wliich 
his father was an attendant thi-uU{ihout his life. 

In ]iolitics Mr. Mixter is a Reiniblican, 
although he has never been an asjiirant for 
])olitical favors. 

Mr. Mi.xter is a member of s\ich an dIcI 
Rock Island famil\', and is so well known 
tlir<iughout Hock Island County that any 
laudatory words woidd be sujjerfluous. Quiet 
and unostentatious in manner, in no way 
egotistic, he has always been known to stand 
for what were the best interests of the City 
that is his home. He is a good citizen and 
a good man, and when that can be truthfidly 
said of any individual it leaves little else 
unsaid. 

m m ^ 

HUGH A. J. McDonald. 

MR. McDonald was bom in the City 
of Rock Island, Illinois, November 13, 
186'2, the son of H. A. J. and Sarah J. 
McDonald, of Scotch-Irish descent. He was 
married to Mary C. Call June 5, 1889, in Rock 
Island, Illinois. The offspring of this union 
are Hugh Earl and George Hobart McDonald, 
both resident in Rock Island. 

Mr. McDonald was a member of the State 
Infantry of Illinois, Company A, Sixtli Regi- 
ment, from 1884 until 1893, when he resigned 
with the rank of Captain, which he had held 
during the last eighteen months of his service. 

He was manager of the business of David 
Don from 1882 to 19012. 

On November 13, 1902, he was appointed 
by Governor Yates as Chief Clerk of Illinois 
Western Hos])ital for the Insane, which 
position he held till March 1, 1906. During 
this period, for the s|)ace of one year — 1903 
to 1904 he was Captain and Adjutant cif 
his old Regiment, the Sixth Illinois Infantry. 

For a period of two years .Mr. .McDonald 
was City Collector of Rock Island, resigning 
the position in iSOo, on account of increasing 
duties in other directions. 



Appointed as jiostmaster at Rock Island, 
by President Roosevelt, on February 1, 1906, 
he took charge on March 1. 

Mr. McDonald's education was accpiired in 
the public schools and in the International 
Business College, at Davenport, Iowa. 

He is Past Commander of Rock Island 
Commandery Knights Temjjlars, member of 
Trio Lodge No. 57 Ancient Free and Accei)t- 
ed Masons, member of Rock Island Cha])ter 
No. 18 Royal Arch Masons, Kaaba Temple 
Nobles of Mystic Shrine, etc. 

Mr. McDonald is a member of Central 
Presbyterian Church. In inilitics he is a 
Republican. 

^ m m 
GEORGE MIXTER. 

A GENTLEMAN of education, refinement 
and culture, an Easterner who came 
to Rock Island in the early days, and 
who sjient a busy and useful lifetime in this 
commimity. was George Mixter. deceased, 
the subject of this sketch. 

He was born in Hardwick. .Massachusetts, 
April 28, 1835, and died m Rock Island April 
20, 1897. He was (}f English extraction. 
The first .Mixter who came to America was 
an English sea captain of that name, who 
came to this counti'y and settled in Plyniouth 
in l(i30, and fnun him tlie Mixter family, s;( 
well known throughout Rock Island County, 
trace their ancestry. 

Mr. Mixter's education was obtained in the 
schools of his native State, and later he 
attended Yale University, then Yale College, 
from which he graduated in 1836. In that 
same year he came West and settled in Rock 
Island, which was his home until his death, 
with the exce]>tion of a few years spent at 
Di.xon, Illinois. He lived in a log cabin on 
the north side of what is now Second Avenue, 
between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets. 
Shortly after locating here he took up the 
study of law aiul was admitted to the Illinois 
Bar, but was ne\er engaged in the acti^■e 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND CO U N T Y 



practice of his pi'dt'cssidii , chonsinti iiistcail a cdllc^io cilucatidii was a rarity and its pcis- 

coiiiiiiprcial career. In fact, lii' was en,a;a.neil sessnr was a person i()(il<e(l up Id and re\'ere(l 

in the trial of Imt one case. Al)andonins his because of it. 'Idier(> was al)out Mr. .Mi.xter. 

intention of enn-a.iiina; in the practice of law, however, not I he faintest trace of egotism or 

Mr. Mixter eniliarl<ed in liu' lunilier business conceit, and lie walked fhrouf^h the world 

and this en,tia.s;ed his attention until 1S63. with that unostentatiousness which always 

Front an early day until his deatli Mr. Mixter marks the truly well educated man. He was 

was interested in iiian\' factories both here fcuid of literature, a i;reat reader and a 

and elsewhere, but to<ik no acti\'e part in delightful companion, a man greatly beloved 

t heir mana.^enient . by those who knew him. kin<lly, considerate 

On ,lanuai\- 1. bst.'i. .Mr. .Mixter was and of a kindly disposition. In short it may 

mai'riecl at .Moline. Illinois, lo .Miss Susan be said that he was a "■ei'fle'ii:iii. Jiossessins 

I'Mi/.abctli (lilbert. .\fler his marriage lie all llie alli'ibiiies which that term implies. 
i('iiio\ed willi his wife lo Mixon, Illinois, !ig 5g !g 

where he remained for a few years en.ija.lied 
in a land ollice. While at Dixon their oldest 

son. William (dlb(>rt Mixter. was born. He ^T~'HK siibjiM-t of this sketch needs no intro- 



BENJAMIN HARPER. 



T' 



is now professor at "^'ale. Three children, I duct ion to the older generation of Rock 

(leorge, Elizabeth and Mary died when very Island County, the larger enterprises of 

young. A daughter, Susan, died at the age which he was inlimatel}' associat(>d with 

of twenty-three, .\notlier daughter. Carrie, throuulioiii the many yeai's of his residence 

is now the wife of C. W. C<iok. They residi' here. 

at Shawnee, Oklaliiuna. Two sons, Charles llenjamin Harper was born I'^ebruary 12, 

Knox Mixter and l''i-aiik Mixter, live in Rock 1S17, in the City of l'liila(lel|)hia, i'ennsyl- 

Island. sketches of their lives apjiearing else- \aiii,-i, and dieil .Vpial :i. 1SS7, in the City of 

where in this book. Hoi'k Islaiul, lllin<iis. 

Ml-. Mixter was never ambitious to hold When about fourteen years of age his 

polil ical oltic(> himself, and although a staunch parents remo\('(l to Cincinnati, Ohio, where 

liepublican. the only office he ever held was he served his apprenticeshi]i to the wagon- 

an honorary one as member of the Rock Island makei-'s Irade, upon com])letion of which, 

School Hoard, which position he filled for that spirit of bold initiative and energy 

many yeai's. His broad education and com- which cli.uactcrized his whole after life, 

]irehensi\-e knowledge niaile him a most asserteil itself in a determination to latinch 

valuable member of such ,i Hoard, and his out upon an independent business career, 

hand was potent in uioldiuii the de\'elo])ment The story of his start, and his ra]iid conquest 

of the Rock Island Public ScIkioIs. .Although, of fortune, aff<inls an interesting contrast to 

as has lieen stated, he was not self-seeking in the conditions of success demanded by our 

the held of politics, he nevertheless took a modern youth. 

keen iiit(>rest in affairs political. He was a \'iuitr<;' Kenjamin's father was a small 

forceful public s])eaker and made man}' politi- farmer, on what wa.s then the Western fron- 

cal si.)eeches <luring the Fifties and Sixties. tier. Xaturally, he possessed scant means 

He was a man of deep, religious conviction, that lie ciuilil afford to venture as a capital 

and was an attendant of the Broadway stake for his y<iung smi, but the boy needed 

Presliyterian Chiiri-h of Rock Island. only half a chance, as the event will show. 

He was a man of most unusual education Mr. Harper ha])pened to have in his cellar a 

and attainments in that earlv da\ , when a considerable stock of cider. This he gave to 



86 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Benjamin, telling him to dispose of it as he 
pleased. Young Harper loaded the cider on 
to a flat-boat, floated it down the Ohio River 
to St. Louis, and sold it. With the money 
this gained he purchased a stock of general 
merchandise, and pushing North to Piqua, 
Ohio, there he set up in bus'ness, continuing 
))rosperously until the year 1838, when he 
removed his stock to TuUy, Lewis County, 
near Canton, ^Missouri, where he added the 
l)ork packing business to his other lines. His 
wealth grew rapidly during the succeeding 
twelve years, at the expiration of which time, 
in the vear 1S.5(). he closed out his business in 
TuUy, and journeyed Westward to the City 
that was to be his home during the rest of his 
life — Rock Island, Dlinois. 

By this time Mr. Harper had accumulated 
what was in very fact, in those days, a large 
fortune — seventy-five thousand dollars. With 
this capital he established a large ]5acking 
Ijusiness in Rock Island, and prosecuted it 
with such energy and success, that five years 
later, he became sole owner of the Rock 
Island Gas Company, in the control of which 
he continued for a jteriod of twenty years. 

With increasing wealth Mr. Har])er's field 
of enterprise widened. He ]nu-chased, in 
I860, the Island City Hotel, which occupied 
the present site of the Har]ier House. Having 
reconstnu'ted the building, he named it the 
Rodman House. 

The new building burned down before it 
was completed, inflicting a heavy loss upon 
Mr. Harper, l)ut, with characteristic courage 
and energy, he at once began again, and the 
structure that he erected still stands, the 
well known Har])er House of Rock Island. 
It was for many years the best hotel in all 
the West, and it is today in the front rank 
of Western, hosterlies — a splendid luonunient 
lo the local patriotism and genei'ous enter- 
prise of its projector. 

The opening of the famous Inn marked an 
e|)Och in the history of ihe Cily, and ihe 
citizens, grateful for the distinguished pul)lic 



service, presented .Mr. Har])er with a six- 
hundred-dol'.ar iiiano, and a silver ]3itcher 
costing two hundred dollars. The house was 
brilliantly ojiened on Washington's Birthday, 
February 22. 1S71. 

Harper Theatre was erected in the year 
LS78, and to its l)usiness Mr. Harpe gave his 
personal attention for a number of years. 

Mr. Harper built more dwelling houses in 
Rock Island during his life than any other 
man — one of the highest and most ]iublic- 
s])irited forms of service that a wealthy man 
can render to his city — and to his initiative 
in this field is largely due the rapid growth c)f 
the City's i)0|)iilation. He built successfully 
a number of residences for his own occupancy, 
the last of these l)eing the stately mansion at 
the head of Eighteenth Street, where he 
passed the closing years of his jirolonged, 
active and useful life. 

Jlr. Harper's friends who survive him. liear 
testimony to his generous public sjiirit. The 
Harper House alone cost liim more than a 
hundred thousand dollars; and it has bene- 
fited the business interests of the City to the 
extent of many times that much. Hundreds 
of thousands of dollars beside were sjient by 
him in the jjublic and (puisi-public im])ro\-e- 
ment. No nuin has done more tlum he to 
make Rock Island the famed and ])rosiierous 
City that it is. 

In politics. Ml-. Harper was a staunch 
Re|)ul)lican. He served with honor as Mayor 
of Rock Island, to which office he was twice 
elected. He was a charter member of Rock 
Island Lodge, Ancient, Free and Acce])tetl 
Masons. 

Always alert in pr<imoting new industries 
for the public welfare, he enjoyeil the con- 
fidence and grateful regard of his fellow 
citizens. In his domestic life he was quiet, 
and of simple tastes, and lovingly devoted to 
his family. 

Mr. Har])er's marriage to Miss Elizabeth 
I'ei'kins, of Moline, Illinois, was solemnized 
April 1, LS57. Died August i), LSOi). 



// / N 7' H I (' ROCK I S L ,1 .V T) ( ' (' N T Y 87 

The meniliers of his famih' wlio sui'\'i\'o Sviljseqiiently, ho was asont i'i>r tho Chioagn. 

them are: liiirlinston ami (^uiiicy Haih'nail. ciintinuiii^ 

Liicv, willow of H. .1. l.owei'v, of Cliicaso. therein until his a|i|ioiiii iiirnt as postmaster 

Elizabeth, wife of I'. .1. Kinne\'. of l.iin-oin, in 1S77. whirh ollice lie licld for a period of 

Nebraska. niiic xcars. .Mr. .M. .1. .Mclaii'iy siiccceilinji 

Thomas R.. i-esiilinii in Hociv Islaiul. liini. iniilrr appoint iiicnt li\' I'rrsiih'iit Cleve- 

Stuai't.of Hock IslaMil. land. He ser\'eil the ('ity of .Moline as 

I'ay it., of \ew ^'ork City. Trustee for sever.-d tciiiis; also as Alderman, 

A son. Pienjamin. died in the yeai' l.S.Sl. in and as ("ity Clerk. 

Ro(d< island. .Mi-. llemenway died al Moline. Illinois. 

jjE >g jg .\pril 27, l'.)(K!. 

LUKE E. HEMENWAY. ' '"'""-'' "'"",'" '"''''"■ ''.""'"■'^;^: '''■• 

lli'm('n\\a\' was ot a <pu('t. I'etirms ilisi.)osi- 

MH. I.rivl-; K. UKWKWy.W . father of lion. ,ind of strong litei\-ii\- t.asfcs. He was 

Charles, F.. whose bio^i'apliy appr;irs n i^reat i-eadei'. and up to the time of his 

elsewhere in this book, was born in death, kept posted in all important em-rent 

Shoreham, \'ei-mont, .\u,uust 7. ISKi. His e\ents. ami was fanuliai- with tlie latest 

father was l-"rancis S., born at (Ir.afton. liter.ary produrtions. He was surpassed by 

.Massaehnsetts. .January '2'.'>. I7.S4. and his few. in pri\ate life, in know ledjic of .\ni-ient 

niotliei- was Clara Turrill. boin in the ye.ar History. 

1786. • Politically, Mi\ Hemenway w;is originally 

He was a direct descendant of Ralph Hem- .-i W'hii;. and aflei-wards a Republican. At 

enw.-iy and Elizabeth Hewes, who were the time of his ileal li he was a member of 

married at Roxbury, Massachusetts, .July o. the Tippecanoe Club of I )es Moines, Iowa. 

l(i;54. He received a common school educa- His reli,nious aliiliation w.-is. for a number 

t ion al Shoreham, ^'ermollt. Lea\in,n home of years, with the Uni\'ersalist Chuicli in 

at the a^e of thirteen, he worked in a store .Moline. and after that clim-ch w.-is dissolved, 

at Hethel. \'ermont. until the year 1 .S.'?,S. when he joined the Con,i;re,national Cliui-cli. 

lie ieinii\cd to ( Irand de Toui'. Illinois, where He was one of the charter meiiibi^rs of 

lie niai-i-ied .lane E. Marsh, .lime l2.'i, 1N4'_'. Doric Lodtie, Ancient, Free and .Vccepted 

( )n August 7, IS.^5, .Mr. Hemenway remo\eil .Masons; also a member of the Odd [''ellows, 

to Moline, Uliliois. to take char,i;e of the .and of (lialiam I'ost. Craiid .Vimiy of the 

ofiices of the .John ]^eere Plow Works. In Republic, 
the year 180U he l:)ecanie a member of the 
firm of Hemenway, Wycki}ff A- Company, now 
the Piarnard i^- Leas .Manufact urinii; Company, 
and 1 S(i4 the call of his countr\' pre\aileil 
against the demands of business. He was 

elected Captain of Company H . One 1 1 iindred and still is, .Mr. Cli.ai'les P. Hemenway, 

ami 4'lurty-second Illinois liil'anlr\. and t lie well kn:)wn dealer in real estate and loans. 

ser\ed until the close of the w.ai-. Then, his .Mr. Hemenway was born November 1, 

public duty discharged, he returned to .Moline l,S4(i. at < Irand de Toiii'. Illinois. His father's 

ami took cliarpe of the ollice of the .Moline n.aiiie w.is Luke Iv HeinenwaN' (to whom a 

Plow Ciuupany. in which connection he con- special .-iiticle is d(>\-oted in this book), who 

tinned until failin,i^ health led him to resisiii m.aiiied .lane I-]. .Marsh, .at (Ir.ami de Toui'. 

his |iiisition in 1.S7."). .lime '2'A. I ,S42. 



m m i*j 
CHARLES F. HEMENWAY. 

APliOMlNENT and .active li,i;ui-e in the 
business life of Moline. Illinois, has been, 



cSS 



// I ST R I C R C K I S LAND C U N T Y 



Tlie Hemenways are direct descendants of 
Ralph Hemenway and Elizabeth Hewes, who 
were married at Roxbury, Massachusetts, 
July 5, 1634. Their grandson, Daniel Hem- 
enway, was a delegate to the convention that 
framed the Constitution of Massachusetts. 
He was Treasurer for the Patentees of the 
Town of Shoreham, Vermont, in the year 
1873. From him is descended the subject of 
this sketch. 

Mr. Hemenway received a common school 
education in the Schools of (irand de Tour 
and Moline, finishing at the latter jjlace at 
the age of fourteen. 

He left home at the age of fifteen, to accept 
a position in the postoffice at Lansing, Iowa, 
November 1.5, 1861. 

On August 13, 1862, he enlisted in Company 
15, Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry, Volun- 
teers, at the age of fifteen years, and was 
honorably discharged at Vicksburg, Missis- 
sippi. Jime 6, 1865, with the rank of Corporal. 
Mr. Hemenway served with his company 
during the campaign in Northern Mississippi, 
being present at the capture of Holly Springs, 
of that State. He was detailed as clerk at 
Headquarters of the Third Brigade, Sixteenth 
Army Corps, July 11, 1863; again as clerk in 
the Adjutant-General's Office, Sixteenth Army 
Corps, December 4, 1863, and as clerk at 
Headquarters of tlie Department of Missis- 
sippi, January 13, ISB.'S, where he was on duty 
when discharged. 

The war ended, Mr. Hemenway returned 
home from the service of his country, and on 
Jime 12, 1865, entered the First National 
Hank of Moline, as bookkeeper. In .\pril. 
1869, he was elected assistant cashier and 
active manager of the Manufacturers' Hank 
of Moline, and in the year 1871 cashier of the 
Moline National and Moline Savings Hanks, 
which office he filled until 1900, when he 
resigned to engage in his present Imsiness — 
real estate and loans. 

Mr. Hemenway serxcd several terms as 
Treasurer of the ('it\- of .Moline, and two 



terms as Alderman. He was ajipointed 
notary public when he was but twenty-one 
years of age, and has continued in that office 
up to the present time. 

In politics he has been from the first a 
Republican. His religious connection is with 
the First Unitarian Church of Moline. 

Mr. Hemenway is a member of (iraham 
Post, Grand Army of the Republic. 

He was married November 4, 1869, to 
Mary E. Harrold, daughter of Henry D. and 
Nancy Harrold, his wife having been born in 
Rock Island County, Illinois, February 1, 
1848. 

Five children were the issue of this union, 
four of whom are now living, namely: Martha 
J., wife of C. R. Hull, of Indianajjolis, Indiana; 
Harrold, Francis R. and Joseph C, the three 
latter residing with their parents in Moline. 
Jg K J« 

CEOROE W. STEPHENS. 

GEORGE W. STEJ'HENS was born Feb- 
ruary 22, 1799. in Ligonier Township, 
Westmorelan 1 County, Pennsylvania, 
and died at Moline, Illinois, July 12, 1892. 

He was christened George Washington 
Stephens because of his liirthday lieing the 
same as that of the Father of our Country, 
but he dr()pi)ed the "Washington" from his 
name because of a tlislike of seeing the names 
of distinguished men attached to others. 
His father was Randall Stejihens, a soldier 
of the war of 1812 and the grandson of Cap- 
tain Alexander Stephens who was attached 
to the Army of the Second Edward the Pre- 
tender. After the l)attle of Culloden in 
which the forces of Edward were disastrously 
defeated, Alexander Stephens fled to this 
country, where he entered the Army of 
Washington and fought unler him in the 
French and Indian wars. He foumle 1 what 
was kn')wn as the Pcnn Col:>iiy at the junc- 
tion of the Susquehanna and .lunniata 
Rivers in 1746. Some years later a s m. 
Amos, was granted 1 18 acres of land in West- 



// / S T () R I (' RO C K I S L A X 1> C O U N T Y S'J 

moreland County liy tlip State for distin- their pro]ierty in ISfiT. In 1865 Henry 

i^uislied service of his father in the Re\'oiu- ("andee, R. K. Swan ami Anih'ew Furherji had 

tion, and tliis land is still in the |)ossession of oi'nanizeil a compan)' lor the maniirarture of 

the family, the son of a sister owiiinj; it. hayrakes. fanning mills and kindred machin- 

Alexaniler afterward went to (ieor,u;ia. ery. with a caiiital of SIS, ()()(). Mr. Swan 

wdiere his grandson, .\lexander Hamilton liclie\'ed thei'e was I'ooin for a second plow 

Stephens, hecanie a United States Senator factory in Moline, and when Mr. Stejihens 

and the \'ice-President of the Confederate was out of the sawmill business Mr. Swan 

States. His mother. Martha P>o,i;ks. was a ni'ucd him to come into their firm ami make 

resi<lent of I'ennsylvania. il a plow cduipany. The Com|iany was 

Mr. Stei)hens came West in 1S41 without a formed wilh a capital of .|L'4,(K)I). In 1S7() 

dollar save what he hail earned. He had it was iiicoi-purateil as the Moline Plow 

jiiven all he had recei\-ed from his father to Company with a cai)ital of $'250, ()()(). This 

a brother whci was married, and whom he has been increased imtil it is now .fti, 1)00, 01)0. 

thoufiht needed the family inheritance moi-e .Mr. Stephens became its i-'irst \'ii'e-Prcsi- 

thanhedid. He had learned the millwri.nht's dent, holdin.i? that position imtil 1 SN5 when 

trade and had bmit se\ei-al mills in I'enn- he resiiined ami made a trip to .Mexico, 

sylvania and Ohio, so that he was well I'pon the death of S. \V. W'heelock .Mr. 

equipped for the w^ork there was in Moline. Stephens was made President and held that 

He told his friends when he went away that position until his death, at which time the 

he woulil not come back until he had a P>oai'd of 1 )ii'ect'ii's passed the follow iuf; reso- 

thousand dollars, an amount that anion,!;' the lutions, showiiiff their sincere regard for him: 

farmers of the rusReil hills of Pennsylvania "Mr. (ieorjie Ste|)hens. our dearly beloved 

was a lar,2;e fortune. Ibit on his way here he I'l'esident. at the a,a:e of four score years and 

was offered the constructir)n of a mill in three, depai'ted this mortal life on the nii;lit 

Northwestern Pennsyh'ania. and as he found of .July I'Jth. (Quietly, peacefully and with- 

no wiii'k awaiting hiui on his ai'riwd in out pain he passed away, a se'i'le :>'id fittiuti 

Moline he returned and built the mill in end for the kindly fi'entlenian who Ijy his 

Pennsylvania and came back to Moline in uprisiht and .just nature, his unblemished 

1843. The flouriui;' mill of I). H. Sears was reputatiini and his amiable characteristics 

then reatly bir the nuichiiu'ry. Soon after endeared himself to all with wliiun he came 

this he built the sawmill on the Island for in contact." 

Seal's, Wood tV: C<uupany. He had <'hai',s;e ''\'irtue. truth and sobriet\' were ever dear 

of the machinery of that mill for Hve years. to him. .MI throufih his life he earnestly 

In 1S5(). in com|.iany with .buiathan Huntoon endeavored to |)racti('e and follow the.se 

and Timotln' \^ood. he leased the mill, anil atti'ibutes. I.d^e t he sturih' oak of the forest 

two years later the three men l:>ought it. the he was a monument of honor and strength 

firm name bein.n' Stephens, Huntoon A- \\'ooil. amonf; his fellow men, and alwavs stood 

They made furnitui'e in :ii|ilition to runnin.i;' before t he world as a type of the square, .just , 

a sawmill. Their null -was a very lari;e one upi'i.u'lit and honorable man." 

for those times, having a capacity of 3,000,001) "He was a plain num. wlio Io\'oil his home 

feet annually. In lS(i4 the owners were and family. He was a ,iust man. who never 

notified by the (iovernnu'nt to leave the consciously wromied a ])ersi.n. He was a 

Island, but an extension of time was granted kind tnan, whose pri\'ate aid to the distressed 

them ;ind it was not until IStiG that they left. was lieartfelt and charactei'ist ic of his noble 

The (lovernment paid them $'_'S,'271).0() for spirit. His lueinoiy will lonii' be chei'ished 



90 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



by those who enjoyed his accnuimtance and 
friendship. As a trilnite to his memory and 
in commemoration of our regard, esteem and 
love be it. 

"Resolved and Ordered. That a page of mir 
records be inscribed witli this memorial and 
copies transmitted to the family and press." 
"By Committee of Board of Direc- 
tors of Moline Plow Co." 
"Moline, Illinois, July 21. 1902." 

Mr. Stephen's energy made the business 
grow from the time he took an interest in it 
until the factory became one of the largest in 
the world. 

^Ir. Stephens' education was limited to that 
which he could get in the ]5rivate schools 
about his home, Init he was a great reader, 
especially on scientific subjects, and he in- 
vestigated carefully the latest scientific theor- 
ies as tliey came out. He was one of the first 
in Moline to adopt the theory of evolution. 
His mind became stored with knowledge 
acquired in this way. 

In 1S46 he married Miss Mary A. Gardner 
of Rock Island. She was liorn near Ithaca, 
New York, anil like her husband, was of a 
distinguished ancestry, being of the family of 
Stejjhen Hoiikins, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, and Esek Hop- 
kins, the founder of the .American Navy. 
She was also a descendant of the ^^ ilkinson 
family that fduiided the CUty of Provitlence, 
Rhode Island. She died on the 4th of Feb- 
ruary, 1888. 

There were born to .Mr. and Mrs. Stephens 
eight children, si.x of whom are still living, 
they lieing G. A. and C. R. Stephens, Mary, 
wife of (Jeorge H. Huntoon; Minnie, wife of 
F. G. Allen; Nellie, wife of Charles H. Li])pin- 
cott, Hollywood, California, and Ada E., of 
Moline. 

Mr. Ste])hens in his life was one of the most 
genial of men. He met all the men in his 
em]jloy as men, and they all entertained the 
highest respect for him as a man. .Among 
business men he was looked to as a clear 



headed man whose advice was alwavs sound. 
He was a man of the highest integrity in all 
business matters, and his great business 
al)ility has been shown in the growth of the 
great institution of wldch he was at the 
head. 

m ^ m 
MAJOR CHARLES W. HAWES. 

MAJOR CHARLES \V. HAWFS is prob- 
ably the oldest male "native" of Rock 
Island, Illinois, liorn within the \'illage 
of Stephenson, now embraced in the city 
limits of Rock Island, prior to 1842. His 
father was David Hawes. a native of Belcher- 
town. Massachusetts, and his mother was 
Julia M. Babcock, a native of Ware, Massa- 
chusetts, both of Revolutionary st;)ck. (See 
biography David Hawes.) 

Major Hawes's father arrived in Rock 
Islanil from Massachusetts via St. Louis and 
the Mississippi River in October, 1835, where 
Mrs. Hawes joined him later, aiul Major 
Hawes was liorn March 7, 1841. He had the 
advantage of a better education than most 
frontier boys of his day, attending the 
Harsha Academy at Dixon, Illino s, after 
graduating from the local scliools. 

.At the outbreak of the War in ISGl, he 
was serving as deputy sheriff under his 
father, who was then Sheriff of Rock Island 
County. On July 20, 1861, Major Hawes 
enlisted in Company A, of the Thirty-seventh 
Illinois Infantry, Volunteers, being made 
first sergeant of the Company. The Com- 
])anies of the Regiment assembled at Camp 
Webb, Chicago, Illinois, and it was there, 
while the Regiment of raw recruits was being 
wldpiied into fighting condition, that Major 
Hawes received his first promotion. He was 
conunissioned second Lieutenant on .\iigust 
10, 1861. On December 31, 1861. he was 
commissioned as first Lieutenant, and on 
.Inly 20. 1862, one year from the date of his 
enlistment, he was raised to the rank of 
Caiitain. 




MA.iOK CllA.S. \V. IIAWES 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY' 91 

As Captain of his Company. Major Hawes years 1S72-1S90, inclusive, he ser\-e(I as chief 

served with credit in the Army of the Fron- of ]iolice of Rock Island, assistant ])ost- 

tier, later known as the Thirteenth Army master, later ])ostmaster. then deputy comity 

Corps, of whch his Regiment was a part. clerk. 

With his Regiment he ]iarticipated in the In Xovemhei'. ISOO, at the Springliekl. 

Hattle of Pea Ritlge, the engagements at Illinois. Head ('ani]i meeting of the Modem 

Prairie (.lro\-e and Cape Girarileau and in tlir Woddmen Society, Maj(n- Hawes entered 

memorable siege of Mcksl)urg. upon what has proved to he. in civil life, his 

In Scptemher. 1S63, Major Hawes was i-(>ally distinguished career. At that meeting 

again piMUioted for meritorious ser\ice. this he participated as a, delegate in the reorgani- 

tiiue to the rank of M;ijor. He was then nation of the society, heing elected head clerk 

transferred to the Ninety-second I'niteil oi- general secretai-y. Then the societ\' had 

States Contraband Troops, then Ijeing organ- 42,642 members; now it has over 1 ,()()(). 001). 

ized at \ew Orleans, Louisiana, which Regi- At each succeeding head camp, or national 

nicnt he drilled until orders for active service convention. Majnr Hawes has been re-elected 

came. With his Regiment he ])articipate.l without opposition, a fact bearing convincing 

ill the Red River campaign, including the testimony to the ability and integrity of 

iiattles of Morganzie Rend, Yellow I'ayou his oHicial course, and to his personal 

and Bay(ni Teche. popularity. 

In 1 S05 Major Hawes was assigned to iluty .Major Hawes enjoys the reputation of 

as su|)erintendent of the bureau of refugees, liaxing practically created the methods now 

contrabands and abandoned lands, with head- almost universally eiiiployeil in the adminis- 

ipiarters at New Orleans, Louisiana, and was tration anil accounting of the fraternal bene- 

uot mustered out of service until Deccmbei- liciary system, iiumbering at present over 

.'M . 1S65, having rendered a continuous 7.000.000 members, and IK^OOO local lodges, 

service of four years and six months. He is a recognized authoi'itv in this great 

Major Hawes achieved an enviable reputa- tielil and liis olhcial reports are regardetl as 

timi as a regimental drill master while in models. He at this date, is serving his tenth 

active service, ajid it was this and his love of ollicial term as head (derk of the Woodmen 

the soldier's life tliat letl to his acceptance in Society. He is, liesitles. proiniii(>nt in .Masonry. 

1S78 of the caiitainey of the Rodman Rifles Major Hawe.s has been twice married. His 

of Rock Island, which he made the crack Hrst wife was Josephine H. Saulpaugh, 

Conipan\- of the tlien strong national guard daughter of L. K. Sauli)haug, of l{ock Island 

of Illinois, composed, as it was. largely of to whom he was married on December 10, 

veterans of the Civil War. In 1,S7'.» Major ISfifi. Three chiklren came of this union — 

Hawes was commissioned .Major of the Katherine L. (Mrs. .lames McNamara), Charles 

Fourteenth Batallion, Illinois National (luai'd, W., ,Jr., and Josephine, deceased. His second 

and this was the last military command held wife was Mary C. Fay, daughter of ,1. M. Fay, 

by him. .\n ollicial posit on related to his war of I'^iilton, Illinois. One son. .loliii .Marcus, 

time days, however, was his appointment by is the fruit of this union. (See biogi-aphy of 

(uiNcrnor Richard Yates as a member of the .Mrs. Mary Fay-Hawes.) 

boaril (if trustees of the Soldiers' and Sailoi's' .Majur Hawes is a man of the jieople and 

Home, (.^uincy, Illinois. He served in this his successful and active life is largeh- due to 

position during the years 1901-19()G. inclusive. the fact that he has kept closely in t:iuch at 

In ci\il life, as well as during war times, all times with his envii-onment. He is a ty])e 

.Major Hawes was a leader. During the of the sturdy pidiieer, whose best (>dncatioii 



92 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



and most vahialile asset is a life rej^lete with 
experience and accomplishments. He has, 
like so many other pioneer westerners, won 
an honorable place in history for himself and 
family by serving the jieople <ienerally, and 
the society of which he has for years been an 
honored official, with an honesty and fidelity 
that is more to lie ])rized than p-eat riches. 
jg 3g jg 

JOHN DEERE. 

No CITIZEN in Rock Islanil County, or 
throughout the country, was jirobably 
more widely known than .lohii Deere of 
Moline. He was born at Rutland. A'ermont, 
February 7, 1S()4, and died .May 17. l.SSG. 
1805 the family moved to Wiildlebury. \'er- 
mont, where the children attended school in a 
district schoolhouse, which had a l<mg fire place 
acro.ss the end of the room. The reading, 
writing and little arithmetic obtained here, 
before he was twelve years old, was the 
principal ei.hu'ational start Mr. Deere hatl for 
life. He afterwards attended private school 
for a few months, but the inborn inclination 
for active [practical work must as.sert itself; 
and the career began, which, for miconrpier- 
able energy, determined will, and selfnuule 
success, has few equals, if any superiors. 
Becoming tired of the schoolroom, he hired 
himself to a tanner to grind bark, and the 
pair of shoes and suit of clothes [lurchased 
with the wages were the first inclination the 
mother had of John's doings. At the age of 
seventeen he became an apprentice to Captain 
Benjamin Lawrence, and began learning the 
blacksmith trade. He faithfvdly worked out 
his engagement of foiu- years, and was then 
eni])loyed in the shop of William Wells and 
Ira Allen, to construct iron wagons, buggies 
and stagecoaches. A year later he was in 
Burlington, and did the entire wrought iron 
work on the saw and linseed oil mill built at 
Colchester Falls. This indicates the mechan- 
ic'al ability of the young num ; for it must be 
remembered that work which is now done by 



machinery, in those days must depend upon 
the skill and strength of the common black- 
smith. In 1827 Mr. Deere went to Vergennes, 
Vermont, and entered into ]iartnership with 
.lohn Mc\'ene, to do general blacksmithing. 
January 28, 1827, he was marrieil to Demarius 
Lamb, who became his faithful companion 
and helper for thirty-eight years. 

.\ change was made in 1829 to Leicester. 
\'ermont, where a shop twenty-five by thirty- 
five feet was liuilt, which was destroyed six 
months after, by fire. It was rebuilt, only 
to be again burned. A third one was built, 
in which business was carried on till 1.S31, 
when the family moved to Hancock, \'ermont, 
where Mr. Deere followed his trade, adding 
to his general work the business of making 
forks and hoes. Energy and diligence were 
bringing in svu'e but snudl returns, but the 
rumors of larger openings and richer rewards 
in the (treat West, induced Mr. Deere to sell 
out his business, leave his family at Hancock, 
and come to Chicago. The town was small, 
unpromising, and ])lanted in a swani]i. 
Strong inducements were urged that he 
should remain and shoe horses and repair 
coaches, but he rejected them, and came to 
Grand de Tour, on Rock river. Here a cho]5 
was opened, and to the geperal work was 
added the building of breaking-plows. Mr. 
Deere soon began to see that his iron ])low 
with wooden mold-board could not be made 
to do good work in the prairie soil; with diffi- 
cidty they entered the ground, clogged up 
and failed to scorn-. Then l)egan the experi- 
ments and imjirovements w'hich finally re- 
sulted in the present perfect steel jilow. 
With characteristic energy and will, the battle 
was pushed till success came. There was a 
demand for a good ]ilow. and siu'h a ])low 
must be made. The first one which did 
satisfactory work was nuule in this way: 
Wrought-iron landslifle and standard steel 
share and moldhoard cut from a sawmill saw, 
and beam and handles of white oak rails. In 
1838 two of these plows were made, with 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 93 

wliicli tlie I'aniii'i's were niiicli plensed, and Anilrcws and canu' to .Mi)liii(', in 1S47. Here 

did unusnalU' iicidil wcirk tdr tlicisc da\s. was t^ood watei' |hi\\('i\ cual in ahiuidance, 

That year Mi'. |)i'('ii' Imilt a dwellini; JKinsc. within tliree t(i five miles, and cliea]) river 

eifiliteen 1)\' I went v-toni' feet, and hi'dUii'lit na\'iiia1 inn. A |iarl nci'slii|i was fcii'nicil with 

his wife and five cliildren from the Ivist. It .Mi'. It. .M. Tate and .lolin M. (loidd; sliop.s 

was not a few hours' ride in a moving ])arini', linih and worlv (■(immenced, resultiiiu; the 

liut a wear\' jiinrnc\' of si.\ weel<s l)v stas^e, lii'st vear in seven h\nidi'eil plows. Aliout 

canal and luinlici' wa^'on. Settled in his this time the first shi|inicnt of steel from 

little homt', and often shaking: with aunc. I']ni;land eame to hand. l'"ift\- plows were 

W(irk was.-~till |inslicd. and u\ l.Soi), ten plows made ;ind sent to (lilTei'cnt parts of t he i-o\mtry 

were huilt. the entire iron wurk of a new saw where the soil was most dillicult to work, 

and fioiu'infi mill hein,ii' done, with no help They [iroved siiccessfnl, the trade enlarjied, 

except an experienceil man as Mower ami new niacldnery was added. I he shops enlarf^ed, 

striker. In l.slo a second anvil was pnt m till the annual production was ten thousand 

the shop, and a workman employed, ami plows. Mr. Deere then lio\i,iiht (Uit the 

fort\' jilows maile. The followin.n year se\'- companx'. In ISrjS Mr. Deere took his son,' 

enty-tive plows were liuilt, and trade extended Charles H.. into the Inisiness a.s partner (see 

many miles in all directions. In 1 S4'2 one liiosiraphv of ('. H, Deere), and the business 

hundred plows were nuule. The follow iiii; was eondueted under the name of Deere i^ 

year a partnership was formed with Major Company till ISliS, when il was incorpo- 

Andrews, a l)ri(d< shop tw(i stories hifi'h luiilt, rafeil under the general law of the State, with 

a horse power |iul in to tui'n a ,iirind stone, a ,lohn Deer as ])resident. 

small fcmiulry established, and four huiulred This business is ,Iohn Deei'e's montiment 

]3lows made. Steadily and rajiidly the busi- on the business side of life. It is the result 

ness grew till in 1 S-Ki the pi'oduct was one of ipiirk foresight, piaetical energy, great 

thousand ])lows. The ililiiculty of obtaining e\ecuti\'e ability, and an almost resistless 

steel of the proper dimensions and (piality was will, which were marked characteristics of 

a great obstach-. I'"inall\ .Mr. Deere wrote lo the man. It is ccmcedeil that he was the 

Xailor iV: Company, of New "S'ork. liardware originator of the steel i)low. There was then 

dealers, ex|)laining the demand of the grow- not onh' no steel ])lows in .\merica. but no 

ing agricultural st.'ites of the West, f(U' a good steel manufactured to make them up. The 

steel ])low, and stating the size, thickness iidhiem-e of tliis iinprox't'inent in plows ean- 

and quality of the steel pl.-ites he wanted. not be easib' estimated. 'I'he name of .lohn 

The reply was thai no sui'h steel coulil beli.ad. I (eei'e is at this time a familial' one through- 

but they would send to iMigland and lia\'e onl the world, ami the Deere plows ai'C now 

rollers made for the purpose. An order was shipped to China, Japan, and in fact all over 

sent, the steel cast in iMigland, and shipped ihe world. They have lieen awarded medals 

to Illinois. Not only was this instam-e of at almost n\tmberless County . State, National 

enterprise and determination shown, but the and fraternal exhibitions, and were rewarded 

practical foresight of Mr, 1 )eere saw that this the same way at the \'ienna exposition of 

loeation was not ad\ antageiuis for a grow ing l.sTM. The principle upon which .Mi', Deere 

business. Coal, iron and steel must be combicled the business, and Ihe principle 

handled by teams from LaSalle, a distance which is still <ibserved, was well expre.ssed 

of forty miles, and plows taken long distances b\' a gentleman long ;ic(piainted with h 

to market, in the same slow and expensive establishment -"Hound lo make thi.s plow 

way. He therefore sold his interests to .Mi'. belter than tlu' last." 



94 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



In personal appearance Mr. Deere was 
large, well pro])ortioneil. strnnfjly built, and 
had been blessed with strength capable of 
almost unlimited endurance. In his better 
days he would stand at his anvil from five in 
the morning till nine at night, building plows, 
shoeing horses, etc. His features were strong, 
and of lines of great ])ower and endurance. 
His face was open, frank, and his address 
hearty, genial, bespeaking that he was a man 
of a tender, social nature and noble character. 
His feelings were near the surface, and he was 
singularly sensative to pathos, whether it be 
that of sorrow or joy. His sympathy and 
help quickly responded to the calls of troulile 
and misfortune, and he rejoiced in the pros- 
perity of all about him. Alisorlied in busi- 
ness, he did not have the desire nor time for 
office and public trusts, which at time sought 
his service. He was, however, always in 
sympathy with ])ublic interests, and gave 
liberally of his means to advance them. He 
was a Rejiublican in jjolitics since the organ- 
ization of that party. He was an active 
member of the Congregational Church, and 
a generous contributor to local and foreign 
objects of benevolence. The religious, moral 
and educational interests of society had in 
him a friend and patron. He was a large 
stockholder in the First National Hank of 
Moline. and was its second President. He 
was once elected Mayor of the City, and was 
also one of the directors of the free ])ublic 
library. 

In June, 1867, .\Ir. Deere was married to 
Lucinda Lamb, sister of his former wife. Of 
the five chi dren by the first marriage, five 
are still living. 

SS Jg !8 

FRANK A. LANDEE. 

IT IS a safe presum])tion that l'"rank A. 
I.aiidee the widely known retail grocer of 
.Miiiine, is an e.xamjile of self made man- 
hood that is worthy of the most j^ersistent 
and conscientious enudatiou. .Mr. Landee 



was born in Kalmar, Sweden, August 11, 
1852, and from the moment of his arrival in 
this country, his career has been marked by 
unceasing toil and honorable occupation and 
transactions. From a lad, wholly imknown, 
his rise has incessantly been in the ascend- 
ancy. 

He is at the present time a member of the 
Board of Directors of Augustana College: and 
is a member of the purchasing and building 
committee for the same institution; Treasurer 
and Chairman of the Hoard of Trustees of the 
Swedish Lutheran Church; Chairman of the 
Board of Trustees of Independent Order Odd 
Fellows Lodge No. 583 (Swedish) of Moline; 
Director of the Peoples Trust and Savings 
Bank; Vice-President of the Moline Fm-niture 
Works; Trustee of Court of Honor Lodge No. 
100, of Moline; was President of the Swedish 
Repuljlican State League during Yates gov- 
ernmental campaign; is an active member of 
the Moline Business Men's Club; is one of the 
directors of the Retail Merchants Association 
in his home city, and holds and has held 
numerous other positions of trust and res})on- 
sibility during his diligent lifetime. 

His attitude toward those \\h(i toil is best 
exemplified by the signal hcmor l>estowed 
upon him liy the linemen of the Chicago, 
Rock Island and Pacific general system in 
the year 190.3. For twenty-two years Mr. 
I>andee had charge of the telegraph and 
electrical department of the Rock Island 
System, and had during that time, in the 
face of the most discouraging viscissitudes 
and resoiu'ces, so ingratiated himself into the 
esteem and affections of the thousands of 
men mider his personal direction that they 
found expression of their appreciation of his 
equity and consideration only after they had 
]iresented him with a valuable gold watch, 
fittingly inscribed, and a solitaire of great 
size set in a ring of purest gold, and then 
after it became generally known that he had 
retired from railroad life for good. To 
furtlier denote the widesi.)rcail popularity of 



// / S T R I C R C K 1 S L A N D C U N T Y 95 

Ml-. l,,'iii(li'(''s landatiiry qualities that lie detaileil to Chicagd, ilui-injz the ^reat fire of 

always exliihiteil toward the workmen under ls71. to augment the force of tele<!;raphers 

his control, it should he stated that the needed dnriiiu; that memorable catastrophe. 

di\'isioii wrsi of the .Missouri Hi\-er presented ('liiraii'o then liecaine his home until 1S,S3 

the watch, while the division east of the Hit; when well earnetl promotion came, and he 

.Muddy lii'stowed the iliamond rinu. Kill was apjiointed traveling representative of the 

with all the powt'rfiil fi'iendships to call his. Western Fnion. the Atlantic and l':icific. the 

and notwithstanding the f^igantic strength I'l.altimore and Ohio, and the National Union 

he wit'lds in the lal)or linsiness wurld. Mr. ( 'ompanies. and afterward installed telephone 

l.aiidei' seems a misnomer, taken I'rom a exchanges in various posts of Illinois, imdiid- 

politii'al standpoint. He has nol once solic- ing thirt\' of the first tele])hones used in 

ited, nor lieM a political favoi', electi\'e or ('liicngo. It was his hand which snperin- 

appoiiil i\c. I'cgardless of the fact that he has leiided the «di-k wlien systems were placed 

lieen selected as delegate to City, County. in (^)iiincv, Keokuk. Ho(d< Island. Davenport, 

('<ingressional and State conventions, has .Moline. Springfiehl. and other wel known 

served his party with a zeal and ciuiipiinci ion ports. The Mutual Tele.graph Company en- 

which invokes the greatest commendation. trusted him with the work in their territory 

has \'oted the Kepuliliean ticket since ls7(i. from the .\llegheny Mountains, west to St. 

when he cast his first vote for I'resiileiil I'aiil. and Kansas City south to Louisville. 

Hayes, and has many time.s been proffereil for two years he was office electrician for the 

]iulilic hiiiiors of various kinds. Western Union, after which he became general 

As a sturdy. enterprisin,g and up-to-date foreniaii of the H.ock Island System, a position 

citizen, Mr. Landee has accomplished an lie so long tilled with unprecedented dexterity, 

iiiciniiprelieiisible amotmt of good for the expertness and siicces.s. As above stated he 

('if\' of Moliiic and l{ock Island Countw His is now engaged in the retail grocer business 

aggressi\ ciiess. coupled with his energy :ind at the corner of Twelfth Street and fifth 

prolific, mind; his lionesty as an example and .\ venue, Moline. 

precept ; the obstener<iiis life he has li\'ed ; his It may triih' be said of .Mr. I,, in dee. that he 

patriotism: foi- his devotion to his family. has been a "hewer of wnod and a drawer of 

his county .-iiid state and to the welfare of water" fnuii his carl\' bo\ho(id. Unselfish 

the people genei'.-ill\' : his decisive and resoliile in his labors for the benefit of his friends and 

integrity and learlessness; his capability as ihe public, coming as he did from the brawn 

a man of opmions. public ami pri\'ate. ,ill li,'i\ (• and sinew which have biiill up the nation, 

conspired to entitle him to the appell.-it ii m by and with which he every da\' brushes elbows, 

which he is known- -one of the most \.iliiMble being a moral, highh' respected citizen of 

and highly regarded men in the coimM , in whii'h his home cit\- ami counf\- ma\' well be 

social, pio\'iiicial, commercial and ediicat imial proud, he is indeed recei\ing nothing lint his 

circles. just ilesserts when the enilearment of an 

In company with his brother, I leorge, he appreciative people and an untarnished career 
settled lirsl in Knox County, in lN(i(i. He designates him a man among men. 
accpiired s(u-li education as was atfordeil liy The people of the Twin Cities ami of the 
the schools at that time, working many hours County are under a lasting obli.gation to Mr. 
each ilay the while. four years afterwai'ils l.andee for the material ser\ices he has will- 
he wciii lo I'eoria, where he became a tele- ingly performed by reason of his personal 
graph opeialor of such unusual speed and eudeax'or and influence, and should the 
accuracy that a year and a half later he was oppoiiunily for a reciprocal ami niiiliial 



96 



II I ST R I (■ ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



interchange of appreciation ever be afforded, 
it is safe to predict that Mr. I.andee will 
discern tliat his labors in behalf of progress, 
]iros])erity and good citizenship have not been 
in vain. What more need be said? What can lie 
said? Public approbation is all sufficient and 
more im]iressive than citations or rhetoric. 

He was united in marriage to Miss Hannah 
Johnson, of Kno.wille, Illinois, April 9, 1S79. 

There are four children living, namely: 
(ieorge E.. a partner with his father, at Moline; 
Frank .].. a law student at Northwestern 
College, Chicago: Marrion C. and Anna I. 

He was elected as a member of the State 
Senate in IdOti. 

ig !S JS 

CAPTAIN DAVID M, TIPTON. 

IT HKCOMKS the sad duty of the officer in 
I tem]iorary charge of the Rock Island Dis- 
trict to anncumce the sudden death, on 
Septemi)er 2-2, 1904. of Captain David M. 
Ti))ton, Master of the Cnited States Steamer 
Colonel A. Mackenzie, near Frontenac, in 
Lake Pepin. Seated in a chair in the pilot 
house, having but a few minutes before been 
at the wheel, he passed away in an instant, 
without ))revioiis jiain or suffering, from 
aneiunsh of the heart. 

Captain Ti])t()n. who was about se\eiity- 
six years of age at the time of his death, was 
born on a farm on the Muskingum River in 
Ohio. .\t an early age he took to the river, 
soon l>ecame mate and afterwards pilot of 
the Northern Line Steamers on the Upper 
Mississippi River, and included in his knowl- 
edge the pilotage of the Rock Island and Des 
.Moines Rapids, the Des Moines, Missouri and 
Illinois Rivers. He entered the service of the 
Fngincer Department in 1873, serving as 
master and pilot from that time until his 
death, successively on the Montana, the 
C.eneral I^arnard and the Colonel A. Mac- 
kenzie, with the exception of two years on 
the .Joseph Henry, of the Light House Depart- 
ment. During his thirtv-one years service 



on the Government boats he was always 
faithful, al)le anil skillful, and his place will 
l.)e haril to fill. 

Cajjtain Tipton had a host of friends, and 
his haijpy, genial manner and hosjiitable 
nature endeared him to all with whom he 
was associated, and his demise brings sorrow 
to many hearts. He was never married, but 
dearly loved the society of children, and was 
much beloved by them. He also loved 
animals, and a good horse or dog was a joy fo 
him. In the language of one of his oldest 
friends " he was one of Nature's gentlemen, — 
a rare combination of simplicity and shrewd- 
ness, of humor and tenderness, and a ty]ie of 
all a Mississi])pi River pilot oiight to be. We 
shall never look upon his like again." 

Captain Tijiton was held in great esteem 
by the officers and associates with whom he 
was connected in the im]irovement of the 
Mississippi River. On a letter sent from 
this office to Washington, making a request 
in favor of Captain Ti]3ton, the following 
indorsement was ]ilaced l)y (ieneral A. Mac- 
kenzie, Chief of Engineers: 

"In consideration of the long, faithful and 
efficient service of Ca])tain Tij^ton, and the 
saving effected by his careful management of 
the property entrusted to his charge, the 
('hief of Engineers is pleased to approve the 
within request." 

Captain Tipton was buried at Chippiannock 
Cemetery in Rock Island on September 24, 
1904. the fimeral services having been con- 
ducted at the Rock Island Club, of which he 
was a member. Many of his friends acted as 
active and honary ])all bearers, and his re- 
mains were followed to the grave by them 
and a large number of other citizens of Rock 
Island and vicinity. 

By direction of M.vjok C. S. Rjciu-;, Corps 
of Engineers, U. S. A. 

C. \W DuRH.v.M, Prineipal Assislant Engineer. 
I'. S. Engineer Office, Rock Island, Illinois, 

September 26, 1 904. 
Ofliriul: C. P. C(jMK(;vs, T/n'r/ Clerk. 



// / S T () NIC R U ( ■ A' / .S L A X I) C (J i ' A' T Y 



n A -r-rcn rr>M <r i\n ^i \/KtKt ineiiilici- (it the (ii'dcr (if Mddcni Wdddiiicn 

PATTERSON S. McGLYNN. , .■ ,, „ i « 

and 111 I he Kiiynl Arcaimin. 

PATTKHSOX S. McCI.YXX. ..nc of the ' si iS ^ 

,ini,,net,irs „r ,1,,. DaUv l..s|iatch was ^q^. CHARLES WILLIAM DURHAM, 
born ni (. onnei'ticiit in IS;i(l, dt Insli 

parentage. He was educated liy liis tatlier /^(»1,. CHAHM-IS WILLIAM DI'HIIAM 

to read and write and to lie ajipalled li\- the \_^ i^ fli'' |irinci|ial assistant in the entiineer- 

midtiplieation table liefore lieinfi sent to ii'K (dtice at Ruck Island Arsenal. His 

country .schools in Iowa, cornniencinfi at tather, Chai'les Durham, was Lorn in Belfast, 

\\'ashin^t(in in the State naineiL " s^i-aduat- Maiiu': his inothei-, Dorcas (', Diu-hain, was 

irig " to a printing office when he was thirteen I'orn in tlie town (if I'.rewcr of ihe same State, 

years old. and then at the at!:e (if sixteen ^'i'- Dui-ham. senidr. w ;is foi- t liivureater |)art 

goinf!; Lack to scIkkiI in the old stone school ot liis life a lumLei- merchant and \essel 

in Davenport, where his jirmtinii-ottice cduc.a- o\\iier. Loth parents ai-e now dead, 

tion raced him through to graduation to tlie ^ oiuii^ Charles was a 2;i-aduate of Chelsea 

hiiih schddl. Hut his educatidu may Le said (Massachusetts) Iliuh ScIiikiI in LS(i4. and 

to have Leen chiefly attained at home and in .uradiiatcMl Hachelor of .Arts from Har\-ard 

jirinting offices. College in 1S6S. Thence he went to (lermany 

After ser\'ice as a pi-inter on the Davenixirf and studied in HeidelLeru; ('ni\-ei-sity foi- one 

Dcmncrdl and on the old Davenport Gazette, year, returnin.i;' to America in ISO'.) and enter- 

mider tlie late Ed. Russell, he was jiromoted ins the Institute of Technolofiy at Boston, 

to he a reporter on the Gazitli. witli liis lield Dnrinji' portidiis of the years 1.S7()-7I lie 

in R(iid< Island in LS7() and 1S77. I''roin ser\'ed the Chicago, Burlington cV: (^Juinc)' 

1S77 to I SSI) Ids home was in Chicago, where Railroad in Neliraska. Before the end of tlie 

he had iiKire printing oliice and newspapei latter y(\ir he entered the ( hn-ernment ser\ice 

e.xpei'ience. In LS.Sl he came to Moline to at Rock Island Arsenal in the Lngineering 

work for the R(i(d< Island Union. After liav- office where he has continued td the present 

ing represented the I'nidii in Mdline for nnn'o time, e.xcept for one year, when he \\ as 

than fdur years, in company with .lohn K. em|i|oyed on the rniled States Snr\-e\- of 

Crooni. he tdok charge of the editorial man- Onachita Ri\er in .Vi'kansas and Louisiana' 

agenient of the l)lsp<ile)i. the firm name li:i\- Colonel Durham has had charge of snag- 

iiig lieeu Mcdlyun and (irooiii, Mr. (Iroom lioats on the I'pper i\Iississi]ipi since 1S7(i. 

taking the Lusiness management. This was He has also had charge of many works of 

in .Inly of LS.S,"). Since that time he river iinpro\-ement from .Minneapolis to tli(> 

has held a half interest in the Dispatch. Missouri River and in additidii td his other 

contiiiiiing with W. I'". l']astmaii after Mr. duties was cajitain df a snag-lmat fdr a peiidd 

(irodiii sold his interest to that gentleman of twenty years. 

in LS'.)1. He w:is Colonel and Ai(.le-de-( 'amp to the 

.Mr. .Mclilynn w :is married .lul\' .">. LS.SI), in (lo\-erii(ir of Illinois for a |)eriod df fdiir years 

Daveupdi't. to Annie Rose Lester. They and is now retired Cdlnnel (if the Illinois 

have had four children, all (if whdiu died in Xatidiial Cn.ard. Cdlnncl Durham h:is served 

ufaiicy. He has the distinctidii (if ne\er on the lidard df educat idii. Rdck lsl;md, for a 

having sought or held a public ofhce. Me period of nine years and on the liLrarv board 

has always Leen a Re|iulilican in politics. He fdr six years. In pdlitics he has always been 

is a member df the Mrst Congregatidual Democratic: in religion a member of the 

Church of Moline, and is a .Mason and a l']piscop;d Church. He is a .Mason, a Kniuhts 



98 



// / .S T R I C ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Templar, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, a 
Rock Island Club Director and .secretary of 
the Marlin RiHe ("lub. 

On Novemlier 19, 187"). Colonel Durham 
was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth 
I-5rackett. This union has been blessed with 
four children: Charles Krackett, Mary Ely, 
Ada Schwatka and John Barnet. Charles 
Hrackett died in 1S9.S. 

^ a 1^ 

SAHUEL HEAGY. 

A DOZEN years ago no man perhaps w-as 
better known throughout Rock Island 
t'ounty than Sanuiel Hcagy, the sul)ject 
of this sketch, for years one of the county's 
influential and respected citizens. 

He was born in Taney town, Maryland. 
April 20, 1838, and died January 28, 1896. 
He was the son of a widowed mother, his 
father having dietl shortly Ijefore his birth. 
Six years later his mother al.so passed away, 
leaving the lad alone in the world. The 
little boy was taken into the hf)me of a man 
and his wife in the neighborhood, and with 
this couple he made his home for ten years, or 
until he was sixteen years of age, when he 
left them and went to Baltimore. In that 
city he secured a position with a wholesale 
notion liouse. and remained with that firm 
until 1857, when lie came to Illinois, locating 
in the Village of Hampton in this county. 

Mr. Heagy married Miss Hein-ietta Hirch- 
ard April 20, 1863, a young lady who.se home 
was in Scott County, Iowa, jiist across the 
river from Ham])ton. Mrs. Heagy died 
March 17, 1907, at Rock Island. Illinois. 
She was the daughter of Jabez Avery Hirchard 
and Lydia (Chambcrlin ) l'>irrlKird. Her ]iar- 
cnts were early settlers and ])ioneers of Scott 
Coimty, Iowa, where they had removed from 
New York in 1,S36. .Mr. P>ircliard died 
October 21, 1S71. and his wife ten years 
later, July 17, IN.SI. 

in 1864 Mr. Heagy embarked in l)usiness for 
himself at Hampton, opening a general store. 



March 7, 1866, a son was born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Heagy, Morris S. Heagy who now resides 
in Rock Island. 

Mr. Heagy was successful in his business 
at Hampton and determining to enlarge the 
scope of his operations he also engaged in the 
coal Inisiness in a small way. This venture 
also proved a success and in 1868 he formed 
a partnership with A. R. Stoddard. Con- 
tinuing in business together vmder the firm 
name of Heagy it Stoddard, these gentlemen 
in 1871 o])ened the first coal mine in the 
upper end of the comity. The business was 
soon after incor]5orated under the name of 
The Hamilton Coal Mining Company, which 
Company carried on the business for about 
twelve years. This Comjiany opened and 
operated seven different mines during this 
time and around these works grew up the 
little mining village of Happy Hollow. After 
the coal dcjiosit was exhausted around Happy 
Hollow the business was moved over to 'the 
southern part of Hamjiton Township, two 
miles south of the Town of East Moline. 
wliere ojierations were carried on in a small 
way until 1892. 

In ])olitics Ml'. Heagy was a Democrat, 
and although his actixe business life did not 
give him time, nor did he have the inclina- 
tion, to seek political reward, yet he was 
ready at all times to serve his party in what- 
ever manner it was considered he could best 
further it-s interest and that of the locality 
in which he made his home During his 
li'etinie he was a prominent figure in the 
conventions of his party, was elected to the 
office of trustee of the Village of Hampton, 
and for more than twenty years was school 
treasurer of Hampton Township. 

He was a member of the Masonic order 
and was a charter member of the Ancient 
Order of I'nited Workmen and of the Modern 
Woodmen of America. 

As has been stated, his death occurred 
January 28 1896, internicnt being in the 
beautiful (.)akdale Cemctary at Dax'cnport. 




UK. K It'll AH Ll 1. SWKE'r 



// / .s' T O K I a R C K 1 .S L A X D (J O U N T Y 90 

No oulofi'\' dl' Saiinirl Heajiv is iiecessarv reader as tn his ijentle tliimi;li manly (lispo- 

to recall til those who knew him in life the sitioii, and illustrates how little he thought 

sterling character that he possesseii and the of self, and to what degree he toiled for the 

splendid reputation that he hore. He was a uplifting of his lirethern an<l the church 

man of scriipulons iiitegritx', a man who did universal. 

unto otlicrs as he wislunl others to do Reverend Sweet was a nati^•e of the Hay 

unto him. State. When sixteen years of age he was in 

% % % l)usiness with an uncle at Mineral Point, 

RFVFRFNH R F SWFFT H H Wi.sconsm. Later he l.ecame a dealer in 

KtVtKtnU K. ^. :)Wt:tl, v. U. ^.^.^ p^^.,(^,_ i^, ^[.„|ison. Wisconsin, and 

TH !•', old axiom which tells us that kind afterwards was .\ssist;mt ( 'oniptroller of the 
deei-ls .and gentle worths live forever is hanks in the Badger State. In 1S61 his 
one which not only ins]iires the nund de^'out nature im|)elled him to enter .Vashotah 
with its sublimity, hut its truth is so often Seminary, from wliicli he graduated three 
brought home to us. ami so forcibly that it years later, with the degree of Doctor of 
affords a solace we do not always feel. \ Divinity. He was ordained liy Bishop 
noble life invariably begets its full measure Kew])er. and was assigned to Reaver Dam. 
of love and veneration, and even though Wisconsin, as a, deacon. After his ordina- 
myriads of kindness done and self-sacrificing tion as a bishop of the Episcopal Church, he 
efforts are lost to earth the hand-maidens of served as financial agent of Nashotah Semi- 
the (ireat Seer of Heaven have the fullest nary, an institution which owes an incalcid- 
kno\\ledge of them all. able ilebt fo his assidious efforts and accom])- 
All men who have been so graciously en- lishments. He tra\('led both throughout 
(lowed with that most ])recious of all human America and iMigland in behalf of the Semi- 
attributes — love for his fellow-men— have nary, and after his return to his native land 
been amply repaid for their self-obligation, he was assigned to Waid\egon. Illinois, thence 
generosity and charity; for their weakness. to the Church of the h>i)hiphary. at Chicago, 
submissiveness and obedience to the mandates Illinois, thence to Freeport. Illinois. In 1SS4 
of the Deity. be hecame rector of Trinity Kijiscopal Chiu'ch 
This truism was abutidantly exemplilied at Rock Islanil. Illinois. At the time of his 
during th.e lifetime of Reverend H. F. Sweet, death, December II). 10O4. he had completed 
and stibstantiated by the wealth of love which a service in this city of twenty years. He 
his memory impels. Instead of donning the was a. trustee of Xashotah and Western Seini- 
robes and aulhoril\- of a bishop ;ui elevation naries; I)eput\' to the (ieneral Convention 
twice ])roffered him, Mr. Sweet preferred to for many years, and had always been promi- 
retain the modest jiosition of rector, so that nent in the diocese of Quincy and for yeans 
he coidd more generall}' and more fre(piently dear to the Ro(d< Island deanery, 
minister to humanity; unassuming to the }g 5g jg 
extreme, he nevertheless accomplished in- 
concei\'able liood and liirhtened numerous 



MAJOR JAMES M. BEARDSLEY. 



burilens worldly and spiritual, and was con- ^T^HI'^ above named and beloveil patriot 
tent to reap the harvest of brotherly lo\-e I was of that branch of the J-ieardsley 
which was his. rath(>r than hoard sordid family which trace their genealogy in 
accunudations. America as far back as 162S. Major Beards- 
Even this brief reflection of .Mr. Sweefs ley was born October 30, 1S33, at Ellington, 
busy and fruitful life sufhces to instruct the Chautauqua County (near the reservation of 



100 



HISTORIC RO C K I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



the Six Nations). New York State; died at 
Rock Island. Auoust 22. 1903. He came to 
hi.s future lumie. tliis city, in the middle 50's. 
while still in his teens, and. though young he 
was. his inordinate intellect, retentive mind 
and assiduity had cnaMed him to attain a 
thorough academic training. 

Being admitted to the bar, Mr. Beardsiey 
soon won the highest laurels as a counsellor, 
orator and diplomat. Being l)lessed with a 
giant's physic, and endued with a mind that 
was marvelous for its strength and resource- 
fulness; being an advocate of the abolition of 
slavery, he soon became one of the most 
potential factors in the West, in lioth public 
and private affairs. He assisted in organ- 
izing the first Company of Volunteers in Rock 
Island — Company I), of tlic Thirteenth Illi- 
nois Infantry — which first served in State 
duty, and was mustered into three years' 
service in the regular ranks May 24, 1861. He 
was commissioned First Lieutenant of Compa- 
ny I). The Regiment to which he belonged 
became known as " Freemont's Cireyhiuuids." 

While acting as body guard to General 
Lyons, Ma.jor Beardsiey was actively engaged 
in the stubbi)rnly contested battle of \\ illiain's 
Creek. He was at the Ceneral's side and 
carried him from the field when he fell, 
moi'tally wounded, and was ]iromoted for 
gallantry in that engagement, August 10. 
1S61. being raised to the rank of Cajitain of 
Company I). \'ice Captain (^uincy McNeil, 
jiromoted to the rank of Major in the Seconil 
Cavalry. Later Major Beardsiey 's Regiment 
became a part of (leneral Sherman's Army, 
known as the Fifteenth Army Cor])s. The 
bloody ])attles in which this contingent was 
involve<l is all to plainly I'ecorded m history 
to need repetition here. Suffice to say that 
the roster of their engagemcuits include those 
of Chickasaw Bayou, the Siege of \'icksburg. 
which cost them many lives and inconceivable 
sacrifices, tlie iiursnit of .Toe .Johnston; the 
jimct ure with (irant at Clint t anooga, a journey 
frauglit witli continual peril and incessant 



fighting, and which brought them tmder 
orders of General Osterhaus' Division, a 
portion of (ieneral Hooker's comnuind. 

At the Battle of Ringgold Gap. Mr. Beard.s- 
ley's left arm a:id legs were shattered; but he 
refused to leave his post until firing had 
ceased, and for his heroism on that occasion 
he was commissioned Major. After his re- 
covery, he returned to the firing line in the 
Fifteenth Army Cor))s. and Ijecame Assistant 
Adjutant-General to (ieneral Osterhaus. 
There he remained luitil 1S6.5. when he was 
mustered out. and the title of Colonel con- 
ferred upon him. 

Major Beardsiey was elected Comity Clerk; 
was re-elected in 1869, and in 1873 began the 
practice of law. He served as Attorney- 
General in Illinois; was a practitioner before 
the United States Supreme Court ; was one of 
the thirty-six men who were sent to New 
Orleans to represent the Republican ])arty in 
the electorial college tangle. Among that 
number, known to history as the "visiting 
statesmen," were .John Sherman, James A. 
Garfield, and .Judge Stanley Matthews of 
Ohio; M. S. Quay and W. 1). Kelly of I'enn- 
sylvania; Lew \\:ilhicc :iiid William Cumback 
of Indiana, and .John X. Kasson of Iowa. To 
Major Beardsiey aiul .Judge Matthews was 
assigned the task of ascertaiinng fraud in the 
Louisiana election. He brought to jiass the 
abrogation of the tinit nde in Republican 
national con\'cntions. thus defeating Grant 
for a tliird term; lie ser\ed as Postmaster of 
Rock Island under President Hayes; iti the 
80's he secm-ed from the Texas Legislature 
the concession of 3,000.000 acres of land in 
exchange for a $1.. 500. 000 State House; he 
was indefatigable in his (■Ff(u-ts to fu?-ther the 
development of the Arsenal and the building 
of tlie Hennepin Canal; he was a zealous 
worker in the Grand Army of the R('|)\iblic 
and other societies, and was a gentlenum of 
culture, polish and tact. 

In the l)i'ief s]jace heroin allotcd. no com- 
pi'cliensix'c picture of Major Heardslcy can he 



// 1 S T RI C ROC K 1 S L AND COUNT Y 101 

ilniwn. His liff was so active, so uiiiii';!' lippii a resident of Rock [slaiid County. In 

any other: so lianlciicil witii incidents, any IN.').') lie was elected Sheriff: was .admitted to 

of which wiHild i(M|iiirc weeks to eliicidale; the har in IS.")!), aftei' a thorounh course in 

so laden with respousihility ami ini]iortance, law; enlisted in the "three months' service," 

so earnest, so nuirked hy fjenei'osity and and was commissioned Lieutenant in the 

Senialitx-. that it must sullice to merely add Sixty-ninth Illinois \'olunteeis. He was pro- 

that he was a i^reat m;in witliiuit realizinii it: moted to the rank of l'ost-.-\djutant at Camp 

he was .tri'eat because he could not helj) it — Douiiias. then a military prison near Chicago. 

Stat matjni iKii/iniix iiii/hra. His Inuuane efforts in lichalf of tlie unfortun- 

()ctolici- ■_'(). 1M)'_'. Ml'. Heardsley nnu'ried :ilc prisoners of wai- at that time woidd of 

Laurany C. Iv Conct. a daughter of Joseph 1 hemselves furiush material for a large volume. 

Conet. a pioneer of this county. The children .After Ids term of thi'ce months in the Army, 

of this union were W'yuiau I. Heardsley of .Mr. J^eardsley returned to |{ock Island and 

Ruck Island: .Mi's. liai'ry C l-irooks. and i\Iiss re-enlisted. He hecame a i-eci'uif inj; ollicei': 

.\nKLnda Heardsley \ brother and a sistei- he organized six compaides of tlie One 

of the late Major also survive — Ezra lieards- Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Volun- 

ley, of Pasadena. California ; and IMrs. Philora teers. and was elected Lieutenant-Colonel of 

Stephen.s. of Mead\ille. Pemisylvaiua. that Kegiment, ser\'ing in the famous Army 

■;-i '^ jg of the Tennessee. Later he was transferred 

COL. EZRA M. BEARDSLEY. '" •^;'^---- -'-';•■ '- -- "-'^ ']"^\ ^'•>"- 

mander at l)e\all s lijun, a strategical |)(uiit 

PKRH.\PS thr(Mighout Hock Island County on the Arkansas Hirer, 

there is no name so often recalled or lu the spring of INTO Colonel Heardsley 

regarded among old settlers as that of went to i'arker. Kaiis;is, where, for a time. 

Colonel Ezra .M. Heardsley. unless it he those he pursued his chosen profession, and, as a 

of the late Major .lames M. Heardsley, or the di\-ersion, imested in a sheep ranch. Se\-eral 

former's lirother. .lames M. Heardsley. The yeai's afterwards he removed to Lake City, 

life of Ezra was (Hie of incessant activity and Harher Count\'. Kansas. wher(> he dieil. 1SS5. 

brilliant success, and up to the time of Ins Lebruary S. LS4S. Mr. Heardsley married 

death and since he was higldy esteemed as Sarah Lemon, of Millersburg. Illinois. Their 

an exemidary citizen, a patriot of the most children were .Mary C.. Seth .Marvin (deceased) 

courageous and pronounced character, and n Ezra Irving, now in Pueblo, Col(}rado, and 

man wlnuii all were deliglitecl to call friend. William Lincoln, now in Oklahoma, and 

Strong as iron, he was a child: gentle as a Albert L., at Fort Madison, Iowa, 

baby, he was an untamed lion when the As to tlie personal attributes of Mr. Heards- 

((uestion of right was in jeii|iarily. ley. his war record, his reputation and 

Ezra Heardsley was born October 14, 1S27, standing as a barrister, citizen, and a parent, 

at Ashland, Green County. New York, his feeble words are inadequate to depaint. 

jjarents being I'disha and Caroline ( .M. .Marvin) .As a soldier his long career was embellished 

Heardsley. He traced his progenitors back with inspiring deeds and kindnesses, his 

to the early portion of the Se^'enteenth Cent- ccuirage was miraculous in its recklessness, 

ury, many of them h:L\-ing served in the and his patriotism was undimmeil in the 

.Army and Navy during the various n]jrisings darkest hours of the nation's peril, 

and wars which have made history for this His children now reside in several States, 

nation. He came to Illinois in 1.S44. an<l and his friends in imin\- more: yet there is 

until ISTO. when he remo\-ed to Kansas, had iiex'er a recurring thought, of Colonel Ezra 



102 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



M. Heardsley which does not bring with it a 
felicitious thought and a moment of con- 
tem])Iat'on that is good to feel. Surely Rock 
Island County has furnished the State and 
the nation with many Ijrave and noble men, 
and among the front rank the name of 
Colonel Ezra Beardsley will always be con- 
spicuous. 

« SS K 

JAMES M. BEARDSLEY. 

THE aljove named witlely known soldier- 
citizen is a brother to Colonel Ezra, and 
Lieutenant Elisha I. Beardsley, the 
latter of whom was killed in action, December 
29, 1862, at Chickasaw Bayou, during the 
assault under General Sherman. Mr. Beards- 
ley, who is also a cousin of the late iMajor 
James M. Beardsley, and descended from a 
family \\ho settled in America along with the 
Puritans in 1628, and whose relatives served 
in the Army and Navy in various capacities 
for nearly three centiu'ies, was born near 
Aledo, Mercer County, Illinois, ,June 23, 1843. 
When he was still in hi.s-swaddling raiment, his 
parents settled in Rock Island County, where 
he has since resided, being at the present time 
a member of the firm of Beardsley A: Bailey 
Company, wholesale licpior dealers. 

In 1862, Mr. Beardsley enlisted in Com])any 
C, One Hundred and Second Regiment. 
Illinois Infantry, and with his Company was 
at once sent to the front, going to Gallatin, 
Tennessee, where Company C ijecame a part 
of Sherman's Army. He was in all engage- 
ments which have made Sherman and his 
men famous forever, and was in the assault 
upon the Rebel battery at Resaca, Georgia, 
which was successfully accomplished by a 
deadly, though brilliant bayonet charge, and 
tlirough whicli he emerged with two serious 
wounds and numerous narrow escapes; lie 
was one of the foragers which operated from 
Atlanta to the sea, including the battle of 
Savannah, and the battles which took place 
on the route through the Carolinas. At the 



battle of Avensboro, North Carolina, he was 
cajitured and sent to Libby Prison, at Rich- 
mond, Virginia, that place of confinement so 
lamentably famed for the carelessness and 
brutality of its administration — and was 
there held as a prisoner of war until the war 
was over, when he was mustered out as a 
prisoner of war at Chicago, June 15, 1865. 

The most notable of the numerous engage- 
ments in which Mr. Beardsley particijtated 
were the battle of Resaca, when his regiment 
stormed a battery at the point of the bayonet, 
and at Atlanta, when but 280 men remained 
to answer roll call out of a total of 921, who 
had enlisteil a year before. 

During the attack at Resaca, which oc- 
curred May 15, 1864, at which time the 
Rebel battery was captured and four guns 
representing the prize. General Benjamin 
Harrison was in general command; W. T. 
Ward, whose division was known as " Ward's 
Iron Brigade," of which Mr. Beardsley was 
one, was Division Commander, and " Fighting 
Joe Hooker" was Cor])s Commander. 

In civil life, Mr. Beardsley has also been 
e-\ce]5tionally prominent. From 1S65 to 1875 
he was a manufacturer of brooms; from 1875 
to 1885 was in the Internal Revenue Service, 
as ganger and ileputy collector; was a charter 
member of the Ciratid Army of the Republic 
in INtiti; a charter member of Island City 
Lodge. No. 4, Ancient Order of United 
Workmen; a charter member of St. Paul 
Lodge, No. 107, Knights of Pythias: a master 
Mason since 1871, organizations to which he 
still belongs, and of which he is an esteemed 
and active member. 

.June 27, 1865, Mr. Heardsley was wed to 
Hannah Hally Beardsley. The surviving 
children of this union are: Henry Marvin, 
now a leading !)usiness man in H lulder, 
Colorado; Laura C., now Mrs. Arthur McNeill. 
i)f Hock Island, and C. Lynde Beartlsley, a 
young man who gives promise of the same 
useful and commendable life observed bv 
his father. 



// / .s' r R I C ROC K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



103 



The friends of Mr. IJeardsley are lejiiciu 
ami (if the siihstaiil iai and esteemed flass. 
His reenrd as a (•i\'ilian and citizen is nf the 
same hish tmii' as ins i-ecord as a s(iidi(M' and 
otticer in the Arm\-. In fact, as a fiiciid, 
man and fatiior, lie is par excellent. 



COLONEL CHARLES L. WALKER. 



DE WITT CLINTON DIMOCK. 

THIS pioneei' .Mdlinc Imsiness man and 
sterling citizen was Ixirn Octoliei' 1, 
1820, at ^^'ellingt(ln, ('(Uinecticut. He 
came west .and located at (lenesed. Illinois, 
in 1n4(), fakinn up his rcsiihaico in .MoHne in 
1S43. His acti\ities as a nninnfactnrer besan 
in 1 S.'i'J wIkmi he formed a partnership with 
.hidge .John .M. (ioidd for the making' of 
fiu'niture and wooden ware. On the incor- 
poration of the fiian of Diniock, Ciould i^ 
Company, in I Slid, he was elected its ])resi- 
dent. This position he held till 1SS4, when 
lie retired from the lieail of the concern, 
retaining his connection through the office of 
treasurer. Mr. Dimock \\as also interested 
in a numhcr of other successful enterprises, 
among which may lie mentioned the First 
National Hank of Moline. He was one of the 
original stockholders of this institution and 
long served as a memlier of the hoard of 
directors. 

.Mr. l)imo(d\ married .lune 17, 1S43, Miss 
Maria H. HuMiard. daughter of Rufus HuIj- 
liard. She was horn in Hergen, (lenesse 
County, New ^'old';. Two daughters were the 
issue of their union. The older, Nellie K., 
died when l)ut two years of age. Florence, 
the j-ounger, is the wife of K. H. Sleight, to 
whom she was married in ISSO. 

Mr. Dimock was one <if the founders of the 
First Congregational Church of .Moline, and 
he and his wife are members of and liberal 
contributors to the support of the same. 
.Mr. Dimock has been a strong Rejniblican 
ever since that party was organized, aii<l 
during the war was a staunch Cnion man. 

He died Mav I'a, lOOti. 



COL. CHARLES LEANDKR WALKER. 
a memiier of one of the leading law 
lirms of Rock Island County for more 
than a ipiarfer of a century, is a native son 
of Illinois. He was born at (^ueen Ann, 
.McHenry County, Illinois, I)eceml)er 27, 1851. 
He is a son of Reverend Leander Smith 
\\'alkei- and Miriam La\'illa Walker. His 
father was a Methodist minister and a leader 
in the Ro(d< River conference. He was for 
;i ])eriod of years stationed at Rockford, 
Winnebago Ctnmty. From 18(1,") to 1870 he 
was financial agent for the i{ock River 
Seminary ami Collegiate histitute, located at 
Ml. Morris, in Ogle County. 

The son graduated from the Rock River 
Seminary and Collegiate Institute in 1869, 
taking a classical course. I'or several years 
after leax'ing school his activities were 
\-arie(l. He taught school, wrirked on the 
f.'ii'iu an<l at railroad construction. Among 
the places where he li\'ed .'it variou.s times 
are Dnrand, Ma-rengo, Rockford, Mt. Morris, 
I'rophetstown, Tampico, (larden Plain and 
( 'lari'iKhm Hills. 

■Mr. Walker remo\'ed to Rock Islanfl in 
.Ma\', lN7-''i, and the following \'ear took up 
the study of law in the oliice of Sweeney i^' 
.Jackson, sup[)orting himself at the same 
time. He was admitted to the bar at Spring- 
field .laniiary 4, LS7S. and at once liecame a 
member of the Hrm with which he iuid l)een 
connected, the name b(>ing changed to 
Sweeney, .Jackson iV- Walker. The older 
meinf)ers were M I). Sweeney, with whom Mr. 
Walker is at jiresent associated tinder the 
name of Sweeney tV: Walker, and Honorable 
William .Lickson, now head of the firm of 
.lackson. Hurst & Staffortl. 

.Mr. Walker's ad\-ancement in the com- 
numity was ra])id. .\t an early date he 
became recognized as one of the best ]josted 
lucii in his jirofession in the northwestern 
part of Illinois, and his acumen and forensic 



104 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



ability won him instant success before the 
l)ar. Always an ardent Republican he rose 
to a commanding ]josition in the councils 
of the party and was entrusted w-ith positions 
of honor and responsibility. He was ap- 
pointed aide on the staff of (iovernor Richard 
Yates with the rank (if Culcmel .laiinary I'S, 
1901. He has been attornc)- for the Illinois 
and Michigan canal from Ai>ril, I'.tOI). to the 
present time. He was ]iresident of the Rock 
Island public library lioard from 1 S93 to 
1907, and it was under his administration 
that the beautiful $65,000 library building 
was erected. 

Mr. Walker early in life accepted Metho- 
dism as his faith, and in Hock Island liecame 
a memljer of the First Church. Fraternally 
he is a Mason of high degree, being a member 
of Trio Lodge, Ancient, Free and Accepted 
Masons, Barrett ('ha]iter, and Rock Island 
Commandery, 

Mr. Walker was married April 13, ISSl, to 
Anna (luy Stoddard, of Rock Island. 

ri -iS M 
JOHN KIMBERLAND SCOTT. ■ 

Till'] sul)ject of tliis sketch, the present 
States Attorney of Rock Island Coimty, 
was born in Muscatine, Iowa, on No- 
vember 26, l.STO. His i^arents were William 
W. Scott, now deceased, and Margaret 
(Hickey) Scott, the former of sturdy Scotch 
and the later of keen, energetic Irish ancestrj'. 
Mr. Scott's father served three years during 
the Civil War as a member of Company M. 
Eighth Iowa \'olunteer Cavalry, and was for 
almost forty years a locomotive engineer on 
the Rock Island Railway, and foi- one term 
an alderman from the Seventh Ward of Hock 
Island. 

,lolin K. Scott came to Rock Island County 
with his |iarcnts in 1S7.t, ha\'ing lived the 
first f(>w years of liis life in Muscatine and 
later in Brooklyn, Iowa. He attended the 
pul)lic schools of the City of Rock Ishmd and 
graduated from the high school in the Class 



of '89, being president of his class. He then 
entered the Rock Island postoffice, where he 
was employed as a letter carrier until Sep- 
tember, 1893, when, having saved enough 
money to realize his cherished ambition, he 
resigned" his po.sition and entered the law- 
department of the State University of Iowa. 
He graduated from that institution in 1895, 
as ])resident of the law class of that year. 

Mr. Scott was for two years professionally 
associated with C. ,1. Searle. and in 1897 he 
was appointed by President McKinley Unite I 
States Consid at La Chau.K De Fonds, in 
Switzerland, resigning that ]josition after one 
year of service to re-enter the practice of the 
law in Rock Island. He was elected City 
Attorney of Rock Island in 1899, and was 
re-elected in 1901 and 1903. In November, 
1904, he was elected States Attorney of Rock 
Island County liy a majority of 3,602. 

Mr. Scott was married on June 3, 1906, to 
.\my Lotiise Hiiey, of Moline, a lady whose 
pleasing personality, tact and grace have 
been a great assistance to her husband in his 
successful career. He is a member in good 
standing in Rock Island Commandery, Knight 
of Templar; Rock Island Chapter, Royal 
Arch Masons; Trio Lodge. No. 57, Ancient, 
Free and .\ccepted Masons; Kaaba Temple, 
Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the 
Mystic Shrine; Rock Island Lodge, No, 980, 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; 
C. W. Hawes Camp, No, 1550, Modern 
Woodmen of .\merica,; Rock Island Aeria, 
No. 956, Fraternal Ordei- of Eagles, and the 
Sons of \'eterans. 

Politically .Mr. Scott has always been a 
He])ublicnn, the txpe of Republicanism that 
c;uiic from a father wlio cast his first vote 
for .Abraham Lincoln, while a soldier at the 
front. .As a lawyer Mr. Scott is well qualified 
both by nature and education to maintain a 
high place in his |)rofession. As a public 
otficial. lie is ellicient. courteous and kindly. 
e\er ready to lend an attentive ear to t .e 
imfortunate and sinned against. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAXD COUNTY 



105 



Mr. Scott's best friends are those wlio 
know liiiii liost in his professional as well as 
in his happy home life. Such an oliicial 
deserves, and will retain, the conlldencc of 
the people. 

K 58 K 

JULIUS JUNOE. 

THl'MiK are fe\\' htisiness men in Hock 
Island oi' Moline wlm do not enjoy a 
personal acnpiaintance with the genial 
Julius .lunge, vice-]iresideiit of the Hock 
Island Brewing t'onipany, a man who. though 
deeply engrossed in the concerns of a large 
and growing iiiilustr\-. has found time t) 
cidtivate his social nature and to enjoy (he 
pleasures of c(unpanionship with his fellfiw 
men. 

He was Ixirii in Prussia. March '2'A. I S4S, 
being a son of ,Iose].)h and .Johanna (Ilerschel) 
Junge. His father served for some years as 
a soldier in the Prussian Army, hut being a 
man desirotis of seeking larger opportunities 
for himself and his children, in 1S.")4, when 
his son, .Julius, was si.\ years of age, he, w ith 
his family, emigrated to America and located 
on a farm near I'\)rt Madison, Iowa. Here 
the father cultivated a \ineyard. There 
wei'e se\'en children in this family, and of 
these .Julius was the yoniigest. The eldei- 
.lunge after ciuning to America spent his 
entire life u[)on his Iowa farm, passing away 
at the ripe old age of eighty-one years. His 
beloved wife survived liini six years, and 
then at the age of seventy-nine she joined 
her husband in death. 

Their son. .Julius, olitained his education 
in the schools of Burlington, Iowa, and after 
completing his schooling he located in the 
town of Jollyville. Iowa. Here lie condncled 
a general store, and was also )iost master of 
.lollyx'ille for three years. 

He came to Hock Island in 1871, and for 
the first eight years of his residence ui tins 
city he was eniidoyed as bookkeeper by a 
mercantile firm. Then he established a 



bottling e.stabli.shment which he conducted 
for one year. In 1S9.3 he acquired stock in 
the Brewing Company formcil by the amal- 
gamation of the various biewing establish- 
ments in Hock Island, ami was elected to the 
offices of vice-president and general superin- 
tendent, which offices he still holds, the Rock 
Island Brewing (~'om])any feeling imlel)ted in 
no small degree for the success they have 
achie\'eil to his boundless \'igi}i- and untiring 
energy. 

Mr. .lunge was married September 3, 1N7.S, 
til Miss Amelia M. Price, a young lady of 
Leland, Illinois. Three daughters were born 
of this uuirriage, the Misses Olga, Fi'ieda and 
l.illie, charming and talented young lailies 
who Inive been given every ad\-antage by 
their parents, and who are pi'ominent in the 
social life of the Tri-Cities, 

Some years ago Mr. .Junge was largely 
interested as a breeder and owner of blooiled 
])acing stock, ami din'ing this time he was the 
owner of two of the noted pacers of that 
time — Bulmont, with a record of 2:()9'4, and 
Seal, whose record was '^lOS-'^. Mr. .lunge, 
however, sold both of these horses at a large 
profit, and since that time has not taken an 
active interest in racing stock. 

He is ;ni enthusiastic s]ioi-tsman. and is a 
Inmter and idmi'od of no small ability. He 
belonged to the Marlin Hitlc Club and later 
to the Rock Island (Jun Club, and in these 
organizations he has always been a successful 
pall icijiant in the "shoots" that have been 
held. He is also an enthusiastic bowler and 
enjoys every form of clean, wholesome sport 
that calls into Jjlay both mind and muscl(\ 

In affairs politicall\' .Mr. .Junge maintains 
a strictly independent attitude, and cannot 
be said to belong to any of the old parties. 

He is interested in several business enter- 
jirises. both in Hock Island and Moline, and 
in Davenport as well, anil is a stockholder 
in the Peoples National I5ank of Rock Island. 
Sci'iipulously honest in every business trans- 
action, he commamls the ailmiration and 



106 SISrOBIC ROC?: islasd corxTT 

respeei: of Ks nisny zriemis. by whom, he is LEnponract eotmnirue^. iiid was dot tnro rears 

cotiaHieed a mosti deCsiLEnil ft^mp.-minn eft.trrTBaa of the eonumittee oa ScreeEs and 

' - ' - - " - a w^ei?Qie AEEers. 

;__ _ - Sh.c^^^:^^ ifter ~t>p- espcEaEiott sx tbjs Tnn.j 

ig ^ ^ period. 3e-siee fee was apoonmedcv 



AXATIVE of Beiaztmi- bom ar Loocst- of wftfeft he- s iii>w t^t.-trrm.-^m HV. Corvn. s 

a orde. Ease FLiiider- "" ":er 2. IS5~- a pablie spirrr&i ttrf^ea " " - ' -' 

EdTrard Corva. is :-. :: .:id *:!! of coaiLiry and iriire^fcs £!i:iis^__ :._ _ :_r 

Leonard Corrn. and Jo&azma Cavhjsraie Sefeot- macts" of EnsEmemnff t&e new »n"S"aJs uxnu. 

~e£nazi- In ~ ■ ^ ^ " rTrm-— ^•••^ - -^-.- 

sraced to :. i ;;_ ^:- .- r : : Tg" in idt- .: . - _ _ -: _; : ^ 

Molfne. TITm. '-rsi -wtiere eel 1S9«>- rRe faster we»fc of saeere and senafae panriDtrEiH. and 

died. Tlie nioc&er. hot " - - :f ase. a ~ ^ - - - - ^ 

scIL siirvTves. on.e of tie i_ ;" .; _ - zien. of tfi_- _ . : ; : _ _r _ ;^ :^- 

Roek Island Coaarv. EId-w"ani Coryn was ini 3fen."s Unioti. embraema: die pLin. of sEefc- 

ai-Fei exi'eHeo." - .:i rases and ae~ - , - ^ • _ 

-i.i'i-:-rfrp.f boui :_. :^ -Z;i Freaen. of _. : _.: i_ ___ _ : 

laniTtiases ac sc&ooL and sinee t^y mnr r d> rwo ufcoosaad doHacs en s&e sreasors-. 

~ / it. Coryu is noT. and lias b-^ - 

. ^ .- ;. -. irsc- presidiSLr of tile So«3scy. 1- j _ . _- 

in' teT 'i a l bersreet ttis Leaving sc&ool and Ms p«Ke of prtsmoirEna; edttcaEkm. aasamt^ hie 
- y J cma: Edward assisted . 

Dmrms Sis arsE »w vears in Hbliie !ie m>m. ulie scart- This izEUDortant: Assj«£aE£on 



witfa. it- Cfiaries A. Tt-^^n^ in title recall ajij^fenr inas Bank and are proTafed wisfa. a. fjo^i 

■ - a«--ce3sori(» for eon- 

- .7S snoek •;:> rwi> of iis fairfiftii Mr. Corrn k a zneaibsr of E&e Knadie of 

Te eonsdrated the 

It. Coryn is a stoekiioider and dir?tfrv>r the year l59(* he pakt a t^ee eo the 

•;.f the ^ " ^ - - " - - - 

which. Latter he is also seCTetarr and tre*f;irer: foarmg' icho«jI teac&c. Two rears Lata:. 

he is 1 - in nA~ . 

Lo-'al v:^---- . ^- _ __ _„- . -:.. - .-"."e on :_. "..- .- . . . — . .. - — _.^ 

5fni-t? hss njatTiraIi3itii.''n. ire rears after ha? joined in cQ^imass to thai: laiir and sec oas 

- on a ~ . ^ 

~ . .. . _r ... c- aMerman Wea:er:i _:.„ : ^^ ^ :__ - 

Ward, of Moiine. and heid rrnd theji in their hone om Oiak HfH MoCne- 
- -re A . - -- '' - - 



HISTORIC ROCK I S L A \ D COCXTY 



107 



Holy Catholic (."luircii. iii which faith both lie 
and Mrs. Coryn now live. 

.Sj .'^ .^: 

OXE of Moline's younger attorneys, who 
has achieved success in his profession, 
and who has acquired a lucrative office 
and probate practice, is Judson I). ^Nletzgar. 

He was born at Port Byron. Illinois. 
December 5. 1S70. and here his parents- 
Marcellus R. and Mary E..( Brown) Metzgar- 
resided until he was ten years of age. when 
they removed to Davenport. Iowa, w-here 
they remained three years, going from thence 
to Moline. which has since been hLs home. 

His early education was obtained in the 
common schools of Port Byron, the Moline 
High School of which he is a graduate, as 
well as of the Port B^-ron Academy which he 
attended later. His professional education 
was obtained in the Denver Law School. 
Upon finishing at this latter institution he 
was admitted to the Bar of Rock Island 
Cotmty in 1S94 and t.'> the United States 
District Court in 1S99. 

On .January 2S. lS9o. Mr. Metzgar was 
married in San Bernardino. California, to 
Miss Alice S. Peterson. Two children were 
bom to them. Mary Alice, aged seven, and 
Wallace Judson. aged four. He was bereaved 
by the death of his wife at Phoenix. Arizona. 
January- 2. 1904. where she had gone in an 
effort to recuperate her failing health. 

Mr. Metzgar 's church affiliation is with the 
First Baptist Church of Moline. He is also a 
member of the Young Men's Christian .•Asso- 
ciation of that City. He is a member of the Red- 
men, the Moline Club, the Highland Gun Club 
and the Moline Retail .Merchants' .\s.socia- 
tion. 

Mr. Metzgar has never been a political 
aspirant, the on'v office he ever held being an 
appointive one by the -Mayor of Moline as 
Director of Riverside Cemetery of that City, 
an office he held for seven vears. 



While this sketch of ilr. Metzgar is brief, 
his life itself is a full and busy one. and he is 
held in high esteem by those who know him. 

ig M is 

EDGAR. H. WILSON. 

BORX at Depauville. Jefferson County. Xew 
York. January 2S. 1S74. Edgar H. ^Vil- 
sou came to Moline. Illinois, with his 
parents. George T. and Mary E. Wilson, in 
the year 1S92. He was educated in Low- 
ville .\cademy. LowvUle. X'ew York. Leaving 
school at the age of seventeen he entered the 
service of Grant iV: Mould, grocers, at Water- 
town. X'ew York, with whom he remained 
for three years when the family moved west. 

.\rriving at iloline. Mr. Wilson was e-ii- 
ployed as clerk in the grocery store of George 
L. Benson at 1620 Third Avenue: at the 
expiration of three years he purchased the 
stock and fixtures of Mr. Benson and con- 
ducted the business on his own hook until 
September. 1902. when he. in company with 
C. W. Wright, organized the Wright Carriage 
Body Company and built that well known 
plant with Mr. Wright as ilanager and Mr. 
Wilson as Secretary and Treasurer. Since 
Mr. Wright's retirement from the concern in 
1904 Mr. Wilson has been in sole charge of 
fact;)ry and office. 

In the year 1S9S. on Thanksgiving Day. 
Mr. Wilson was joined in marriage to Miss 
Emma Wright, daughter of C. W. Wright, of 
the above Comijany. In politics Mr. Wilson is 
a Republican : he is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, where he officiates as organ- 
ist : he i* also a member of the Young Men's 
Christian .A,ssaciation. and of the Doric Lodge. 
Xo. 319. .\ncient Free and Accepted Ma.sons. 
% n n 

ALMON A. BUFFUM. 

THE evolution of Rock Island Coimty 
from an untamed wilderness into a 
populous, highly improved and well 
ordered community has occup e 1 but a brief 



108 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



span of years. There are those now living 
who were here in time to aid in the beginning 
of the struggle against the fbrces of nature. 
And yet there has been time for families to 
grow II]), children and grandchildren, and 
even great grandchildren to be born, reared 
and scatter west, north and so>ith to people 
other lands. Such has been the history of 
the descendants of Jonathan Buffum, a 
pioneer of the thirties. He came to Steithen- 
son, as Rock Island was known then, from 
the east, in 1S35, at a time when there were 
but a few straggling houses here. He estab- 
lished tlie first hotel, or rather tavern, in tiie 
settlement and at this place, so family tradi- 
tion runs, dinner w^as provided for the gang 
of men who built the first house erected on 
the site of Davenjjort. 

Jonathan Buffum was the father of a large 
family and there are today numy descendants 
scattered throughout the country. Almon 
Atwood Buffum is one of the few who still 
live in the county. He is a son of Seth R. 
and Henrietta (Atwood) Buffum. His father 
was born in Ohio and came to Illinois in 1826. 
His mother was a native of Vermont, taking 
up her residence in Illinois in 1,S47. The son 
was born in Knox County, Illinois, August 
26, 1849, and the greater ]:)art of his early life 
was spent in .\ndausia, where he obtained a 
common school education. January 1, 1.S73, 
he married Amanda Weaver, who tlied in 
1902. Four children were the result of the 
union, Este E., Bertha, wife of Lorenzo 
Chambers; Ruth, and Paul. Mr. Bufftim 
settled on a farm in Black Hawk soon after 
his marriage and has engaged in agricultural 
pursuits ever since. He is a spiritualist and 
is independent in politics. 
M ^ ^ 

PRESLEY GREENAWALT. 

PRESLEY OREENAWAl.T, casluer nf the 
Rock Island Savings Bank, was born 
May 31, l<So<S, at Wyoming, Stark County, 
Illinois, the son of Henry Andrew and Maria 



Calwell (ireenawalt. In the public schools 
of Wyoming he obtainerl his education, leav- 
iiig his studies at the age of fourteen to enter 
the printing office of the Wyoming Post. In 
1S82 he removed to Rock Island and secureil 
a position as bill clerk with the Rock Island 
it Peoi :a Railroad. After a few months he 
was made cashier in the local freight office, 
from which position he was successively pro- 
moted to agent at Toulon, agent at Rock 
Island, and finally to cashier and paymaster 
for the road. In 1892 he resigned to enter 
the shoe business in Rock Island. At the 
end of a year he disposed of his store and 
took charge of the books of the Rock Island 
Savings Bank. He was made cashier in 
1895, and still holds that position. 

Mr. Greenawalt has given much attention 
to fraternal work. He is a member of Trio 
Lodge, No. 57, Ancient Free and Accejjted 
Masons, and served as master dm-ing the 
year 1899. He is connected with the Odd 
Fellows and filled the office of noble grand 
one term. In the National Union he held 
the office of secretary for a number of years 
and is now treasurer. He is also connected 
with the Modern Woodmen of America, 
Knights of the Globe and Bankers' Life 
Insurance Comjjany. 

Mr. Greenawalt was married June 17, 1885, 
to Miss Marguerite Elizabeth Lavix, daughter 
of ;\Ir. and Mrs. Val. Laux, of Davenport, 
Iowa. 

jg jg jg^ 

MARTIN SCHOONMAKER. 

MrCH has been wi'itteii in this historical 
work of the banks and hankers of Rock 
Island and Moline. However, in esti- 
mating the financial strength of Rock Island 
Comity the banks and bankers of its smaller 
munici])alities are deserving of very ]irominent 
mention, for they are the tributaries of larger 
financial institutions and have an imi)ortant 
jKirt in swelling the stream of the county's 
prosperity. To the village bank comes the 




p. GREENAWALT 



// / S T () R I C ROC K I S L A N D CO V N T Y 



1 W.) 



farmer from tlip siin-ciimdinii (■(Hiiit rysiilo .-iiid 
(lp]Kisi(s the iioldcii fruits of liis toil. From 
till' proprietor of tlinf liaiik its ciistomprs 
may ask and receive sound Unaiicial a(l\'ir(>. 
He is their friend and ad\iser as well as their 
banker. The farm loan, that solid i-o(d< of 
financial investment, is pl.-iced with him. or 
i.s negotiated through some larger hanking 
institution through liis agencw I"])on the 
staliility anil security of these smaller hanks, 
as well as upon the lionor and integi-it\' of 
those in control of them, rests the whole 
superstructure of the coidiilence and trust 
reposed in them. 

With these thoughts in nund we are now 
to consider the life and chai-acter of Martin 
Scliooniuaker, the haid^er at the \'illage of 
Reynolds in this county, one of liijck Island 
Connty's most influential citizens. He was 
born Octobei- '1\ . ls;]4, in (ireen ("nuntw 
New 'V'ork. his pai'ents being Christian ami 
Sylvia Schoonmaker. I^oth i\Ir. Schoon- 
maker's parents wci'e natives of this countr\'. 
His paternal grandfathei- came to America 
from Germany at a very early date. Martin 
Schoonmaker recei\'ed such education as w.-is 
afforded at lh;it early time in the common 
schools <if his natiA'e county, receivin.g sound 
instniction in the common branches of learn- 
ing. 

About Apiil 1(). bS56. Mr. Schoonmaker 
left New ^■ol•k State and c.ame to Illinois, 
locating at once in l!o(d< Ishiml. l'inanciall\- 
he was in sore straits, without either employ- 
ment or friends. I'pon coming to liock 
Islanil h.e sto|)ped for two or three da\s with 
Mr. C. H. Stodd:ii(l, a, man very pi'ominent 
in Rock Islaml Couidy before his death. .Mr. 
Stoddard informed the young m;in that there 
was plenty of employment to be obtained at 
or near the village of Edgington. which was 
just opening u]i as a farming community. 
Meeting Mr. Daniel Edgington. after whom 
the village was named, u|)on the streets of 
Rock Island, arrangements were made with 
him to take the \"oung sfran.irer down intcj 



the lower end of the cininty. He accomp- 
anied Mr. Ivlgington to his farm, and after 
remaining there for ,-i day oi' two found em- 
plo\'ment with .Mr. .M;ithi;is Agy, a neighbor- 
mg farmer, to whom he hired out at a sahiry 
of sixteen ilolhirs ;i month. The employment 
oid\" continued for two months, when our 
yo\mg adventurer was again seeking work. 
He found employment very speedily at the 
stt)re of a Mr. Hurrall, and here he received 
seventy-five cents a day for his toil. After- 
ward Mr. Schoonmaker owned this store, hut 
as he himself says, it was in those early days 
of his struggle beyond the wildest dreams of 
his ambition. After he left the employ of 
Ml-. Ihirrall the yo\mg man went to work for 
a l)(ictor Tyler, who owned a large farm in 
the lower end of the county. Here he was 
ei;ga,ged in the laborioiis occupation of mow- 
ing ha>' with a scythe, this being long liefore 
the era of the mowing machine and the hay- 
loader. Vox this work he was to receive 
se\-enty-fi\-e cents per acre. Again, as Mr. 
Schoonmaker himself says, at that time he 
would ha\t' considered an\' man who windd 
ha\c prophesied that he would own siu'h a 
farm as that little short of insane. \'et in d\ie 
course of time, this \'er\' farm upon which 
he had toiled for 1>|-. Tyler, came into his 
possession. 

y\fter some years of farming Mr. Schoon- 
imd<er entered the agricultural implement 
business at I''dgington. From that he 
liraiH'hed out into the general mercantile 
business. Then he entered the li\ery l)iisi- 
ness at Muscatine, Iowa, later returnin.g to 
the mercantile business at I<jdgington, and 
l.at(>r at Re\-nolds. Then he entered the 
grain business, and this he followed for 
twenty-one years. In the meantime Mr. 
Schoonmaker started the Reynolds bank, 
the first bank ever in that village. At first 
this was ojierated as ,-i ])rivate bard<ing insti- 
tution, and it continued to be so operated for 
about ten years. .\t the ex|)iration of that 
lime .Mr. Schoonmaker sold out his business 



no 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



interests, includinfi the l)aiik and the grain 
l)usiness. his intention lieinji to retire upon 
the competence that he had acquired through 
his industry and .sagacity, and to enjoy a 
well earned rest from the cares of business 
life. This he did for a time, and being 
opportuned by some of the Reynolds citizens 
to open a State bank, lie yielded to their 
recpiests. and j^roceeded to complete the 
organization of the State bank. Subscrip- 
tion for the bank stock was very soon com- 
pleted, and at the first meeting of the stock- 
holders of the new institution Mr. Schoon- 
maker was unanimously elected the bank's 
first president. This office he has held ever 
since. 

Mr. Schoonmaker, during his long business 
career at Reynolds, has been cme of that 
village's most ]iublic spirited citizens. To 
him ]irobably more than to any other single 
individual is due the credit of liuilding u]i the 
village. He always had a firm faith in its 
futiu'e, and never hesitated to put his money 
into building enterprises. He has had built 
eleven dwelling houses, a large grain eleva- 
tor and a bank building, a business i)lock 
and office building. 

in political faith Mr. Schoonmaker was. 
in his early years, a staunch Democrat, but 
differing with the majority of his ]iarty on 
some of the issu-es it advocated, he left its 
ranks and has ever since voted the Re])ub- 
lican ticket. Mr. Schoonmaker has hekl 
several public offices in Rock Island (Vnmtj', 
and although they were in fact minor offices, 
and somewhat local in their nature, they 
serve to demonstrate the esteem and regard 
in which he was held by his neighbors. He 
was a member of the Board of Supervisors 
for eight years and chairman of the Hoard 
committee at the time of the building of the 
new court house in this county. The bonds 
voted for this enter])rise were $125, ()()(), which 
issue, through l\Jr. Schoonmaker's agency, 
were sold for $l.'?(),OnO to H. X, Harris & 
Company, of Chicago, a ver}- advantageous 



financial operation for Rock Island County. 
Feliruary 12. 1860. Mr. Schoonmaker was 
nuirried to Miss Elizabeth liouttinghouse, the 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Routting- 
house. Sr. He was bereaved by the death of 
his wife July 6, 1870, after ten years of happy 
married life. On February 29. 1876, Mr. 
Schoonmaker nuirried Miss Jennie C. Smith. 
Five children were born of this second mar- 
riage, three of whom are living; t^lizabeth, 
Laura and Martin I-'ay. The daughter, 
Elizabeth, is now the wife of T. I. Ash. 

In bringing to a close this biographical 
sketch it seems that no words of flattery are 
necessary to gloss over ilr. Schoonmaker's 
long and honorable career. He has spent a 
long and useful lifetime in Rock Island 
County. He is so well known that his life 
and character speak for themselves. Coming 
to this county at an early day he found nat- 
ural opjiortunities which he improvetl. and 
he is now enjoying the natural and well- 
merited reward of his foresight. 

m )g m 
ROBERT WARD OLMSTED. 

ACOOD mental and physical equi])inent. 
unflagging energy, and temjierate habits 
have been leading factors in the eleva- 
tion of Roliert Ward Olmsted, from a poor 
boy, dependent upon his own resources, to 
the honored position f)f judge of Rock Island 
County. Rorn on a farm in Edgington 
Township, Rock Island County. Illinois, May 
6, 1868, he became almost, if not quite, self- 
su]i|)orting at the tender age of thirteen, and 
though employed early and late for the 
greater part of each succeeding year of his 
youth, he cultivated studious habits, and by 
close a])plication to his books, both in and 
out of school, and by sti'ict economy, he 
secured an education. Having done this, his 
advancement was rapid. 

Our subject is the son of Robert H. and 
Mary M. (Linn) Olmsted. The father was 
born April 13, 1832, at Havensport, Fairfield 



HISTORIC ROC K ISLAND C U N T Y 111 

("imiity. Ohio. Ho was left an cirpliaii at an to tlie liar nf Towa. After praet icinj; fniir 

cai'ly aiie anil jirew tci iiianluHKl in l)etiance years at Oraniie City lie was elected (■(uuity 

Connfy. (Jliiii. He came to Knn\ ('()init\', attorney, and sei'\'ed till slmi'lly liefore his 

Hlinois, in ],S50, and to Kock lslan<l County reino\-al to Pvock Island in May. .1 Nil'.). Fi-oni 

in 1S6(). He was suecessiveh' school teachei', I'.lOd to 11104 he was assistant slate's attorney 

fai'iiier. merchant, ))ostmaster of Milan, Illi- ol Ho(d\ Island Conidy. In the Spring of 

nois, insurance a.neiil and for the last tweh'e I'.)il7 he recei\'ed the nomination foi- ('(uuity 

years has been deput\ sheriff and hailiff of ,lud<;e at the hands of the Hepulilican jiarty. 

the circuit and coiint\- courts. to till tlie une.\])ii'ed tei'm of .lud,i;e iv 1']. 

The foundation of the Olmsted famih- in I'armenter, dece;ised. His election hy a 

America was laiil hy three bi-others of Enjilish handsome majoi'ity followed. 

Puritan .sto(d<, who remo\ed to this continent While attendinsi Iowa Asri<'ull nral Collejie 

in the seventeenth century, one of tlie liroth- Mr. Olmsted was a cadet, obtaining some 

ers beini;' a pioneer settler of "Hartford, military e.xperience. He at one time took 

Connecticut. The mother of our subject lirsl prize in a com])etitive drill in which his 

was born March 2'2. 1.S44, near \iola, Mercer Company participated. l)urin.i;; his term of 

County. Illinois, her pareids, who were of ser\ice he rose to the I'ank of Captain, beinn 

Scotch-Irish descent, coming to Illinois from by \irtue of his commission, a member of 

;\Iercer County, I'ennsyhania. the Iowa National Cuard. Mr. Olmsted is 

The son at the ;iii;c of thirteen befian work a rresbyterian. a niember of the Jiroadway 

as cutter boy in a paper nrill at .Milan, beinji' Church of Ro(d'; Island. In ])oIitics he has 

employed twelve hours a day and e.-irniiiK ;it always allied himself with the Republican 

hrst but $4.50 per week. Diirinti the next partw Fraternally he is a niemljer of the 

three succeeding summers he was employed M.'isons and the Modern Woodmen of America, 

in another ])aper mill, on a farm and in a Mr. Olmsted married Aiisiusf 2.'), 1892, 

drug store. Then he was assistant post- .lennie !•'. I''ahnesto(d<. of Lewiston. Illinois. 

master at Milan and at Reynolds, Illinois, To them four children lia\c been born: 

for two years: at the age of eighteen, taking Margaret, February 7, 1,S()4: I']lix,abetli, .June 

up scdiool teaching near Milan. In February, 11, bSO.S; Rob(>rt Frnst, December 2. FSf)!). 

1.S,S7, he entered the Iowa State College of and ,leanetle, October 20, I!K):!. 

Agriculture aii<l Mechanics Arts at Ames, and 5ii? 5^ jg 

after four years graduated with the degree unNnRARI F Wll I lAM PAYNF 

of Bachelor of Science. While m c.dlege he HUnUKADLt WILLIAI 1 TA Y Ht. 

earned practically all the money recpiired to ■r^.\RMERS who have been electeil to posi- 

carry him through. In 1S<)0-!)1 lie was T tions of trust and lionor are not by any 

teacher in the Xorthern Iowa Normal School means few in .\merica, but it is the excep- 

at Algona. and the following year he was tion that the tiller of the soil coiiliinies to be 

principal of the public schools in Milan. such long after he has won success in any 

Then for three years he was superinlend(>nt sphere outside his regular c.alling. The alliirt^- 

of schools of Orange City, county seat of nients of city life in tlie great nia.jority of 

Sioux County, Iowa. Prior to this, in bSDl- cas(\s ipiickly meicome the iiiboi'ii |o\e of 

i(2, he studied law with ,lackson iV Hurst in nature uiiadoincd ami the farmer is known 

Ro(d< Island, and while at Orange City he by another name. 

completed his course under 1,. I). Hobson, Honorable William Payne has been one of 

an attorney of that place. In 1 .S!).') he passed the few. After terms of service in county 

the (.'Xamination and .I,-inuar\- 1 (i w. is admitted ollices and tliroiiiili tweh'e ^•ears in which he 



12 



// / N T O R I C ROCK ISLAND COUNT Y 



held membership hi the llhnois Hotise of 
Representatives and Senate he remained a 
farmer. His broad acres in Zuma Township, 
Rock Island County, he still called home, 
and there he continued to reside and jihmt 
and cidtivate and reap and raise live stock 
till he felt it time to retire from active business 
and from office. Then he exchanged his farm 
for city property and l)ecame a resident of 
Rock Island. 

Mr. Payne was Ixirn March 8, 1841, at what 
is now known as Pleasant Valley, Scott 
County, Iowa, his parents being Jeremiah 
and Letitia (Orr) Payne. They located in 
Scott County in 1837, the father lieing a 
native of New York State, and the mother a 
native of Ohio. The son received his educa- 
tion in the public schools near his home, and 
in the Winters of 1859, 1860 attended school 
at Quincy College, and in 1860 taught school 
in Posey Comity, Indiana, and Adams County, 
Illinois. At the outbreak of the Civil war he 
joined the Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, serv- 
ing in Comjiany I) during the greater part of 
the four years he s]ient in the army. After 
the war he found emjiloyment in mercantile 
establishments and on the farm, till 1875, 
when he purchased the stock farm in Zvmia 
Townshi)! on which he continued to reside 
for twenty-five years. In 1901 he rented 
the farm and has since given his attention 
to other affairs, spending four years in the 
South. 

Mr. Payne's career as a public officer began 
soon after the war. In the si.xties he served 
one term as deputy county treasurer and 
two terms as deputy sheriff. In the early 
seventies he was elected sheriff, and filled 
that res])onsible office for two terms. In 
1890 he was elected a member of the lower 
Illinois House, and so well were his constitu- 
ents pleased with his work that they sent 
him back at the end of his first term for 
aiuither six years, making eight consecutive 
years. Then they jilaced him in the Senate, 
where he held a seat for four consecutive 



years, retiring in 1902. Among other ]Misi- 
tions of trust Mr. Payne filled was that of 
president of the Rock Island Agriculttu-al 
Association, in whicli cajjacity he continued 
several years. 

In Masonry the subject of this sketch 
stands high, having attained the thirty-second 
degree. He holds membership in Rock Island 
Lodge, No, 658, Ancient Free and Accepted 
Masons; Rock Island Chapter, No. 18, Royal 
Arch Masons; Rock Island Commandery, No. 
18, Knights Templar ; the Oriental Consistory 
of Chicago, and Kaaba Temple. Ancient 
Araliic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of 
Davenport, Iowa. In addition he is a mem- 
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

Mr. Payne was married October 26, 1870, 
to Miss Jennie Wilson, daughter of Major 
F. Wilson and Asenath (North) Wilson, both 
old settlers of Rock Island County. Four 
children born of this union: Frank, farmer 
and stock raiser of Zuma, married Miss Clara 
I'^rels in November. 1901. They have one 
son, Wilson Payne, born in 1894. Ben, of 
Rock Island, is single, and has all the Masonic 
degrees his father has. Lucy, was married 
in January, 1899, to Honorable Marton 
Bailey, of Danville, Illinois, and they have 
two cliildren. Joe Cannon Marton. born in 1900' 
and Helen, born in 1894, Miss Mabel Payne 
the yoiuigest of the family, resides at home. 
•ss m ^ 

REVEREND GEORGE W. GUE. 

A MAN who, while ne\'er a ])ermanent 
resident of Rf)ck Island, yet lived in 
the city long enough to leave a perma- 
nent im]iress there and to be remembered 
with gratitude by« many, was Reverend 
Cieorge W. (!ue, for several years ]iastor of 
the First Metliodist Church, and builder of 
the present ho\ise of worship of that congre- 
gation. Honoretl in various ways by his 
church he bore his ])referment well and 
earned the love and respect everywhere of 
those with whom he came in contact. 




REV. GUE 




D M. SECHLER 



// 1 STO HI C R C K 1 S L A N D COUNTY 



li;5 



Mr. Gue was liorn in Neville, CleriiKnit 
County, Ohio, l-'chniary '27, 1S4(), and dicil 
at Porthmil, Oi'ctiidii, .Inly 24. I'.IOl. When 
ten y6iirn of ajie, his parents ronioxcci (o 
Princeville, Peoria (.'onnfy, lllin<iis. .\t the 
age fif nine year.s he had coniiileted an 
academic education and was admitted to the 
Central Illinois Conference, bein"; at the time 
the yi)ungest mend)er of that (irganization. 
As the years j)assed he was assigneil tn the 
most imjiortant posts in the conference and 
served alsn as presidino- elder. In KS62 he 
enlisted as a private in the Cnion ai'iny, 
being soon promoted to Chaplain of the 
One Hundred and Eighth Illinois l{egiment. 
In later years he often ]_iroudly mentionc(l 
the fact that he was the yomigest Chajilain 
in the Army. Serving tliroughoiit the wai', 
Mr. Cine returned with his Regiment to Peoria 
in 186.5, and was there mu.stered out. After- 
ward he became ])rominent in (Irand .Army 
circle.s in the State, serving one term as 
department Chaplain. He also published a 
book entitled "Our ('(juntry's Flag." 

Mr. Gue was for a number of years presid- 
ing elder of the Kankakee district. He was 
transferred to the Oregon conference in \SU\, 
and took charge of Grace Church at I'cirtland, 
After three years service he was chosen 
presiding elder and served tlie full term, 
afterw'ard resuming his duties as pastor with 
the Centenary Church at Portland. It was 
wliile waiting at the depot to meet retiu'uing 
l']pworth League <lclegalcs, who had been at 
a meeting at San l''rancisco, that heart failure 
overcame him and he died. Mr. C.ue was a 
delegate to thice general conferences of the 
American Metliodist Church, those of l,S,S(l, 
1888 and IS'I.S, and was elected a delegate to 
the Ecumenical Council of the church which 
met in London. iMigland, in the Septend>er 
following his death. 

Mr. Gue was married to .-\nna H. Roberts, 
of Peoria, Illinois, in 1S()4, and his wife, three 
sons and one daughter survi\e. 



DANIEL M. SECHLER. 

DANIEL M. SI'X'HLJOK, founder of the 
I). M. Sechler Cai'riage Company, of 
.Moline. Illinois, was born Mai'ch 4, ISlS, 
at Uanville, Peimsyh'ania, and died at his 
home in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 27. 1!)()3. 

.Mr. Sechler's forefathei's, in tlie days of the 
l)ersecution of .lohn Huss, were ol)liged to 
llee for refuge from .\usliia, taking up 
their abode in Holland, fi'om which country, 
in 1(.)S5, Mr. Sechler's great great grandfather 
emigrated to America, locating near William 
Penn's town of Philadelphia. His grandson, 
.lohn Sechler, a re\olut ionary soldier, founded 
the town of Danville, the birth]ilace not oidy 
of the subject of this sketch, but also of his 
father. Rudolph Sechler, and his motliei'. 
Susann.ah (nee Douty). 

His wife's parents were Thomas and 
Catharine (nee -Angst adt) Mackey. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sechler had but one son, 
Th(unas M., whose biogi-aphical sketch fol- 
lows this one. 

Daniel M. Sechler's early education was 
acipiired in the public schools of his native 
town, supplemented by several terms in the 
local academy. 

.\t seventeen years of age he began his 
apjirenticeshi]) at the carriage maker's trade, 
in the City of Port Deposit, Maryland. Four 
yeai's later he entered into a co-partnership 
with a Mr. Hall, uiuler the firm name of Hall 
iV Sechler. Carriage Manufa,cturers, at Milton, 
Pennsylvania. During this period Mr. Hall 
died. Mr. Sechler continued the business for 
three years thereafter, producing from fifty 
to seventy-five carriages per year, and then 
disposing of his establishment, removed to 
Wooster, Ohio, where he lived in retirement 
for a time. Later he operated a foundry in 
.Adams County. Ohio, and in 18,52 he took 
the management of the jiattern department 
of a large machine sho]i at Ironton, Ohio, and 
in 1854 erected the St;ir Nail Mill— now the 
Hellefont Iron A\'orks for a com]iany at that 



114 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



place, being the first nail mill erected in Ohio. 
He continued there until the year 1S.5S, when 
he removed to Cincinnati, where he opened 
a large wholesale and retail store, as agent 
for a rolling mill, located at Pomeroy. Ohio, 
and iron furnaces in the vicinity of Ironton 
and Pomeroy. 

In the year 1867 Mr. Sechler became a 
partner in the Swift Iron A: Steel Works, at 
New]iort, Kentucky. Two years later, in 
1869, we find him interested in the manu- 
facture of pig iron, in Montgomery County, 
Tennessee, and in 1877 he retiu-ned to his 
original business of manufacturing carriages, 
under the firm name of Sechler iV- Company, 
at Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Operating this establishment successfully 
for a period of ten years, he sold out his 
interest, with the intention of permanently 
retiring from active business. Now ensued 
a period of travel, diu'ing which he, with Mrs. 
Sechler, visited jilaces of interest in Eiu'ope. 

Returning home, he soon foimd that the 
life of ease which he had [ilanncd for his 
future was not so pleasant in realization as 
it had been in ex]iectation. Of \'igorous 
physique and active brain, and habituated 
to strenuous business life, the ennui of idle- 
ness soon became unbearable. He had 
learned the lesson that work is necessary to 
happiness, and acting upon this feeling, he 
once more launched out in business venture. 
this time selecting Moline, Illinois, as the 
scene of his operations. Here he estaijlished 
the D. M. Sechler Carriage Com]Kiny, which 
stands today, the splendid monument to his 
later and greatest enterjirise. 

To the two acres of floor space, this thii\-- 
ing manufactory, with a capacity of ten 
thousand vehicles annually, was added, in 
1897, the manufacture of the Black Hawk 
Corn Planter. The nuignitutle of this liranch 
of the l)usiness will be understood by that 
fact that, at the time of Mr. Sechler's death, 
it was the second largest cornplanter works 
in the world. 



The manufactory, under the management 
of his son. Thomas M. Sechler. who survives 
him, has kept pace with the onward sweep 
of the greatest business concerns of the 
coimtry, and is today one of the great manu- 
factiu'ing establishments of Moline. 

Mr. Sechler's first presidential vote was 
cast for William Henry Harrison, in 1840. 
He supported the Whig party until 1856, 
when he voted for Fremont, from which time 
on he affiliated with the Republican party, 
in National politics. 

He was a Mason, made such in Kilwinning 
Lodge, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1869. 

He married Miss Pamela Mackey, of Milton, 
Pennsylvania, January 19, 1841. The sole 
issue of this marriage was Thomas Mackey 
Sechler, a sketch of whose life ap|iears in this 
book. 

Although Mr. Sechler's home was, to the 
last, in Cincinnati, he spent much time in 
Moline, in the oversight of his extensive 
business. His protracted visits brought him 
into personal contact with a large number of 
Moline business men, and resulted in num- 
erous lasting friendships; and his death left 
a deej) sense of loss in all who knew him. 
Daniel M. Sechler was a courtly gentleman, 
of the Old School, a man of strict integrity 
of character, of unvarying honor in fnisiness 
and personal relations, exerting' a profound 
and altogether healthful infiuenco ui)on the 
inisiness and social life of Moline, 

m "^ m 
THOMAS, n. SECHLER. 

MOLINE is a city of manufacturers, one 
of the most ])rominent of whom is the 
subject of this sketch, Thomas M. 
Sechler. He was born October 25, 1841, in 
Milton, Northumberland Comity, Pennsyl- 
vania, at which jilace his father, D. M, 
Sechler, at that time conducted a carriage 
factory. His father. D.-iniel Montgomery 
Sechler, was born at Danville, Pennsylvania, 
March 4, 1818, and his mother, Pamela 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 115 

(Mackey) Soclilor, was hiiiii in Untlaml atteiidpil a sclmnl in li-oiitnn, Lawrcncp 

Townsliip, I'.cvks ('(iiinty, Pennsylvania. Cuunty. in the same State. In .Inne, 1S60. 

Decenilx'i' 111. iNlli. She is still living at he graduated from Hughes lliuli Schocil, in 

her home in Cincinnati. ()hio. , ("inrinnati, and tlie fojlowinii Septemhei' he 

T. M. Secjijer's paternal gi'eat-sreat-great entered tlie Sophmnore class of Marietta 

firamlfatlier came fi'cnn Holland in IfiS"), ("oUeiie, from wliich lie iiradnated July 2. 

together with a hi'otlier, and settled in ISG.'^. I'anking third in a gr;idiiat ing class of 

William Penn's territory near Philadelphia. twelve. During the years he spent at .Mari- 

The brother settled in North Carolina, and etta College he pursued a classical course, 

one hundred and se\'enty-eight years later the I'.ishop C. C. .McCalie. of the .Methodist I'^pis- 

descendants of these two brothers were to lie copal Church, was one of his teachers at the 

found in the ranks of the o])posing armies in Irontoii High School, and it was at this 

the war of the Rebellion. The great-grand- institution that Mi'. Sechler met his future 

father, John Sechler. born March '20, \7',M. wife, who was also a pupil there, 

died Decendier 21, 1S31, was a soldier in the From IS.oS to 1,S()!), and from 1.S77 to bS.S.S, 

Aiuerican army during the lUn-ohifion. from Mr. Sechler lived at Cincinnati, the eight 

1776 to 177S. He «as born in l'hiladel]ihia years from isd!) to 1S77 being sjient in M<int- 

County. Pennsylvania, and after the close of gomei'v County. Tennessee, where he was 

the Revohitionar\- war he moved to Columbia engaged \\ith othei's in the manufacture of 

County in the same State, where he founded ii-on. 

the town of Danville, now the coimty seat of As has been stated, .Mi'. Seclilei' gi'adnateil 

Montour County. from Marietta College on .luly 2, bStj;-!. On 

Mr. Sechler's maternal grandmother, Susan- the eighteenth of the same month he was 

nah (Douty) Sechler, was born A])ril 27. 17S1 . enrolled in the Union Army and served 

and died Se]itemlier S. 1,S71. She was throughout the war. He ser\-e(l with the 

descended on her mother's side from .John Second Ohio Artillei-y. fr(mi which he resigned 

Coo|ier, one of the early settlers in Plymouth at the close of the wai', holding the rank of 

Colony, Massachusetts, where he came in ['"irst Lieutenant at tlie time. He saw m<ist 

l()2.S. Her father. John Douty, was also a of his service in Kentucky and Eastern Ten- 

Re\(ilutioiiai'y soldier, and was taken prisoner nessee. Part of his lime was spent on 

bv the Hi'it ish at the c.apture of {■'ort Preeland. detached sei'\'ice. he lieing at different times 

His mother's great grandfather, Martin Acting Assistant Adjutant (leneral. Acting 
Mackey, a Revolutionary soldier, was killed .Assistant (Juarternuister and Provost Mar- 
at the liattle of the I'randywine, His son, slial, but he was with his Regiment on all its 
Andrew Mackey. was an .\merican soldier im|)ortant moves. He was, however, in only 
during the war of 1S12. .\ndrew ^lacdccy's one severe engagement, that lieing w'ith 
son, Thomas Saylor Mackey, was a lad too Wheeler's Cavalry at Calhoun. Tennessee, 
young to join the army with his father during during the month of August, 1864, 
the war of 1.S12, but lie was afterward a Majoi- I''rom 1866 to 186!) Mr. Sechler was engaged 
in the Pennsyhania nnliti.a. and foi' a time in business with his father at Ciiu-innati, and 
was a magistrate for Northumberland County. Irom 1S6',I lo 1877. as h;is been said, he was 
He wa,s a contractor, and biult a portion of in the iron indu.^li'y at Montgiunery County, 
the Northern Central Raih'oad. now a pai't Tennessee. l''rom .\o\-ember 1877. to De- 
of the Pennsylvania System. cembcr, 1888, he was a member of the firm 

Mr. Sechler received a common school of Sechler A- ("'ompany, carriage inantifac- 

education in Adams County. (Jhio. and later turi'rs, at Cincinnati, his father hieing 



116 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



l)resident <if that firm tintil lie retired in May, 
1887. to resume again at jMoline, Illinois. 

On January 8, 1889, eighteen months later, 
T, M. Sechler came to Moline to join liis 
father in the busines.s that he had already 
established there, ever since which time he 
has been a resident of that city. His first 
connection with the Moline firm was as Vice- 
President of that industry, b\it upon the 
death of his father in 1903 he succeeded him 
as President of the institution, which oflRce 
he has held since that time. He is also 
President of the Wright Carriage Body 
Company, a director in the Mutual Wheel 
Com]jany, all Moline industries, besides hold- 
ing stock in several other factories in that 

city. 

He was married at Ironton, Ohio, June 7, 
1866, to his former schoolmate, Miss Juliet 
McCullough, daughter of Atldison McCul- 
lough, one of the leading iron manufacturers 
at that place. His wife's four great grand- 
fathers were Revolutionary soldiers, and she 
is a member of the Moline Chapter, Daughters 
of the American Revolution. Three children 
have been born to Mr, and Mrs. Sechler, two 
sons who died in infancy, and one daughter, 
Mary Addie, now the wife of Mr. Howard O. 
Edmonds, Assistant Secretary of the North- 
ern Trust Company, of Chicago. 

Mr. Sechler has never been an as])irant for 
political honors, the only officer he ever held 
being school trustee in Montgomery County, 
Tennessee, and at the same time he was also 
jjostmaster at Vernon Furnace, a town in 
that county. Although not an office seeker 
himself, Mr. Sechler has always been a staunch 
and loyal Republican, his first vote being 
cast for Abraham J>incoln during the time 
he was in the army in 18()4. He is a strong 
adherent to the |)rinciples of his party and 
has never failed to support its candidates for 
President since he cast his first vote. 

In religious faith Mr. Sechler was originally 
a Presbyterian, but upon coming to Moline 
he became connected with the First Congre- 



gational Cluu'ch of that City, to which he has 
given his allegiance ever since. 

He is a Mason, being a member of Doric 
r.odge, Moline; a Royal Arch Mason, and a 
member of the Chapter of Knight Templars 
at Rock Island. 

He has been a memlier of the Grand Army 
of the Republic since 1880, first joining that 
organization at Cincinnati, and upon removal 
to Moline transferring his membership to the 
Post at the latter city. While at Cincinnati 
he filled various Post offices, from officer of 
the day to Post Commander, and was also 
chief mustering officer of the Department of 
Ohio. He represented Ohio in the Council 
of Administration during the last year of his 
residence there. He also belongs to the 
Loyal Legion, holding his membership in Ohio. 

Besides these organizations, Mr, Sechler 
belongs to the Moline Clul) and to the National 
Association of Carriage Builders, in which for 
three years he was a vice-president. 

He is also a member of the Illinois Society 
of the Sons of the American Revolution. 

Mr. Sechler is a man of marked adminis- 
trative ability. The industries which he con- 
trols are prosperous and thriving ones, their 
increase and growth being continuous and 
steady. He is one of the men to whom Moline 
owes the distinguished position she holds in 
the galaxy of manufacturing cities of America. 

m in ^ 
REVEREND THOMAS MACKIN. 

RI';VEREND THOMAS MACKIN was born 
in County Armagh, Ireland, January 4, 
1841, the son of Daniel and Ann Mackin. 
His rudimentary education was receiveil in 
the Government schools of his native land, 
and upon his comjiletion of the course afforded 
there, he turned to teaching as a means of 
livelihood, and to pave the way for the 
attainment of wider educational advantages. 
In 1861 Thomas Mackin came to America, 
settling in Leland. Illinois. Here his brother 
James, was engaged in the dry goods, 




VERY HKV. THOiMAS .MACKTN 




II 1' SIMPSON 



// I ST R I C R C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



117 



commission and land Imsiness. It was during 
war time and they did an extensive business. 
Thomas, however. des])ite that he was on the 
road to sure fortune in the business, was not 
content to devote his life to commercial 
pursuits. He craved knowledge, and his 
studious nattn-e and literary inclinations 
tlevelo])ed a desire for the priesthood. With 
a view to fitting himself for holy orders, first 
he entered Notre Dame Tniversity, but re- 
mained tliere only a lirief period, wlien he 
enroilei.l at (leorgetnw ii I'nivcrsity, Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia. Here he re- 
ceived his classical education — grailuating at 
the head of his class in 1S71. His diploma 
was conferred by (ieneral William Tecumseh 
Sherman. He was mach.' Hachehir of .\rts 
in 1S71. by tlie uni\ersity, and .Master of 
Arts in IS.S.S. Vvam (leorgetown he went to 
St. Mary's, Baltimore, Maryland, tn imuu- 
plete his theological studies, ami was (irdained 
in Chicago by Bishoj) Foley August IS. 1,S74. 
Immediately after his ordination he was made 
assistant at St. Patrick's Church, Chicago, 
remaining in that position three years. He 
was then sent to Lena, Illinois, where he hail 
charge of a church, and si\ out-missions. 
Father Mackin came to Rock Island Sep- 
tember 14, 1.S77, to take the rectorship of 
St. .loseph's Chinch, sncceediug i''atlier 
Joseph Rolls. Fifteen years ago Father 
Mackin, who hatl remained continuously as 
pastor of St. .loseph's Church, was made a 
dean and irremovable rector by Bishop .lolui 
Lancaster Spanlding. of the Peoria diocese. 

He was ever a lo\'ei' of education, and one 
of his first works on coming to Rock Isl.nnd 
wa.s to estaljlish St. .b)seph's Parochial School, 
the first successful school of its kind in R.o(d< 
Island. Later he endowed a scholai'ship in 
the Sjuiulding Institute at Peoria, (a school 
for boys), and has the honor of emlowing the 
first permanent scholarship of the \illa de 
Chantel (a school for young ladies). 

The St. .Anthony's Hospital was also 
established under Father Mackin's direction. 



His death occurred on February 16, 
1905. 

Father Mackin leaves to his parish a chiu-ch 
with valuable ])ro]>erty abutting on the 
north side, a hanilsome school on Second 
Avenue, and Calvary Cemetery. 

K K 2^ 

HARRY P. SIMPSON. 

HARRY P. Sl.MPSON, editor of the Rock 
Island .L-f/z/.v. was born in Davenport, 
Iowa, on ,(nly (i, LSOo. and moved to 
Rock Island in 1SS7. He attended the i)ui)lic 
schools in his native city, and wdiile yet in 
high scliool he developed a decided taste for 
newspaper work, serving as re])orter on a 
society i)a])er called the Saliirddt/ Ajlernoun 
Pitiplc. His work attracted attention and 
he was offered a |)osition on the staff of tlie 
Davenport (r(i:ilti\ which lie accepted, repre- 
senting that paper in a reportorial capacity 
in Rock Island and Moline. A little later he 
was made city editor of the Gazette and held 
that position foi' t wd years. He later served 
as city editor of the Davenport Herald. In 
LS,S7 he removed to Rock Island, having 
become city editor of the Ari/us. The Arf/us 
was then owned and edited by the late John 
W. Potter. After his death, in 1S98, publi- 
cation was continued by the J. W. Potter 
t-om])any, consisting of Mrs. M. E. Potter, 
H. P. Simpson and the late James J. LaVelle, 
with Mr. Simpson as editor, a position he has 
filled to the present time with conspicuous 
ability and success. On August 12, 1884, 
Mr. Simpson was married to Miss Ella P. 
Skiles, daughter of H. M. (\. ami Eliza J. 
(McKissen) Skiles, a. woman of lieautiful 
character and immy accoin|)lishments, a 
de\out meuiljer of the Fpisc'o|)al Chiu'ch, 
and whose untimely death. I'ebruary 21, 
IDIIH, is mourned by a large circle. Two 
daughters. Miss Mary K. S mps.m and Miss 
Dorothy B. Simpson, live to bless the union 
so happily formed. .Mr. Simpson is the son 
of .Joseph L. and I'Hiza A. (Purcell) Sim]ison 



118 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the former a native of Missouri ami the 
hitter of South Carohna. Both are now- 
deceased. The ]iaternal ^randfatlier, Dr. 
Robert Sinijjson. was a pioneer jiliysician in 
St. Louis, Missouri, antl one of tlie earUer 
sheriffs of St. Louis County. The maternal 
grandfather was a lawyer in South Carolina 
and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mr. 
Simpson is a member of the Tri-City Press 
Club, the Rock Island Club, tlie Press 
Club of Chicasio, and the Illinois Press 
Association, and enjoys the friendship and 
esteem of a large accpiaintance. His fra- 
ternal affiliation is with tlie Mod'ei'u Wood- 
men and the National Union. 

M 'jg m 
CAPTAIN JOHN BURGESS DAVIS. 

'\"\ TyHKX the great West was young the 
\\/ Mississippi Ki\'er, as the [irincipal 
gateway to it and almost the sole 
means of conveying its products to the out- 
side world was the center of commercial life. 
Men who followed the river were participants 
in stirring events and their work was fraught 
with an importance in the eyes of the ])ublic 
that we of today can little realize. To be a 
steamboat captain in the fifties and sixties 
inve,sted the in(li\idual witli a dignity as 
great as that accorded to the average railroad 
magnate nowadays. 

Captain .John Hiu'gess Davis earned his 
title when the great stream was at its best, 
and there were few v\ho won greater honors 
than he for liis calling. Among his most 
notable achievements was the taking of the 
first boat up the Minnesota River to Big 
Stone Lake; thence into the Red River of the 
North, and the construction of the first wing 
dam on the Mississippi. Tlie boat he took 
into the Red River was the "Freighter." 
It was in LS59 that he navigatetl through 
liig Stone Lake into the Northern stream. 
The first wing dam was built some years 
later, in LS73, when he was in charge of a 
Government fleet, and it was located three 



miles below St. Paid, at Pig's Eye Island. 
This method of impro\'ement, which he was 
the first to use on the Upper Mississip])i, has 
since been generally ado]ited and has done 
more than any other device in giving a 
uniform channel for steamboat navigation. 

Captain Davis was born to the vocation he 
followed with success. His father, Thomas 
Bodley Davis, was a river man before him. 

Born in Pennsylvania, in ISOO, the father 
removed early in life t:) Kentucky, and for a 
number of years commanded a lioat [.dying 
lietween Pittsburg and New Orleans. On one 
of these trips up from the southern metro])olis 
he was stricken with yelloW' fever and ilied, 
in 1835. The son was born at Mays\'ille, 
Kentucky, April 19, 1,S2S, and died at Rock 
Island, Illinois, Novemlier 26. 1S90. River 
life ap]iealed t:) him from a l)oy, and at an 
early age he was given coiuniand of a boat 
running between Cincinnati and St. Louis. 
Within a few years he became owner of the 
line. In LS5S he turned his attention to the 
Upjier Mississippi and estaljlished a ])acket 
line between St. Louis and St. Paul. .At that 
time he came to Moline and made his home 
there one year, returning then to Kentucky. 
He retained his interests on the Father of 
Waters, howe\'er, and was at St. Paul when 
the war of the Rebellion broke out. Thougli 
a southerner by birth and education, he en- 
listed when the first call for trooi^s came, in 
the Second Minnesota Regiment, entering 
the service as Captain of Com])any F, July 
8, 1861. He was ])i'oiuoted to the rank of 
Major November 5. 1862. At the battle of 
Chickamauga he fought in General Thomas' 
Di\'ision, and after his horse was shot under 
him ho was wounded so severely that he was 
carried from the fieltl and sent home. He 
did not recover sulliciently to enable him to 
rejoin his command, and was mustered out 
April 16, 1864. Honoralile mention and his 
war record is given in ".Minnesota in the 
Civil War," a book published by tlie State of 
.Minnesota to i)reserve a record of its soldiers. 



HISTORIC ROCK IS L A N D C U N T Y 



110 



In 1866 t'aptuin Duvis resumed stcam- 
boatinp;, conducting a line of his own from 
Mem])liis, Tennessee, up White River to 
Augusta, Arkansas. He made his home at 
Memphis till 1S7H, when he removed once 
more to Rock Lslaiid and entered the U. 8. 
Government service, in the cajiacity of 
Captain of tlie United States Steamer Mon- 
tana. For three years he served under 
Colonel Macomh of the United States Engi- 
neer Corjis, then in charge of the Ujiiier 
Mississippi Ri\'er Improvement. In 1S77 he 
took a (lo\'eriiment contract to convey up tlie 
Mi.ssouri, Vellowslone and Little JJig Horn 
Rivers (the latter never before navigated), 
the material for the building of I'^orts Custei' 
and Keougli, in Montana, the fi-eight being 
secured at Hismarck, Dakota, then the 
Western terminus of the Nt)rthern Pacific 
Railroad. This was immediately after the 
Custer massacre, when the region in winch 
he o])erated was full of great peril. Captain 
Davis, however, knew no fear, and fulfilled 
his contract with prom])tness and with satis- 
facticm to all concerned. Then lie retm-neil 
to Rock Island and liecame connected witli 
the Diamond ,J(i Packet Company, com- 
manding one of its best steamers running 
between St. Louis and St. Paul. In 1SS3 
his services in another arduous undertaking 
were demanded and he accepted an offer frcim 
the Hudson Bay Fur Com])any to superintend 
a line of boats on the Saskatchewan River, 
in Canada. He had been thus engaged for 
two years when the Riel rebellion liroke out 
and the Canadian (lovernment secured his 
services in transpoi't ing troops on the South 
Saskatchewan, a stream which had iie\'er 
before been navigated, .■\fter the capture 
of Riel and the collapse of the rebellion, 
Ca]itain l)a\is once nK)re returned tn Ruck 
Island and to the employ of "Diamond .lo " 
Reynolds. Jieing appointed master of the 
" Libl)ie Conger," he connnanded that boat 
one season and then ser\-ed in a similar 
capacity on the "Sidney." In 1 SSS he re- 



signeil to become associated with a syndicate 
of ca|iitalists in the construction of a steel 
hull packet, which was intended to be used 
for passenger business only and was ex|.)ected 
to work a revolution in transportation 
between St. Louis and St. Paul. This pro- 
ject was never consummated, for the Captain 
vielded to the wishes of his family and turned 
his attention from the river to other enter- 
prises. For two years prior to his tleath he 
was associated with his sons, T. P>. and S. S. 
Da\'is. in developing an electric light and 
power plant in Rock Island and Moline. 

Ca])tain Davis was imited in marria,ge with 
.Miss Anna E. Sharpe. Marcli 13, 1S.55. His 
wife was the daughter of Dr. Samuel K-. 
Sharpe, a prominent iihysician and surgeon. 
Roth her parents were natives of Kentucky, 
their home being for many years at Mays- 
ville. They first came to Rock Island in 
IN.")7 and remained three years in Rock Island 
and Moline, during which time Dr. Sharpe 
practiced his profession. They then returned 
to Kentucky and resided there till 1875, 
when they took up their permanent residence 
in Rock Island. Mrs. .Sharpe died at Rock 
Island June 0, 18S1, at the age of seventy- 
five years. Dr. Sharpe passed away in Rock 
Island May 22, 1890, at the age of ninety 
years. He was an exceptionally strong man, 
mentally and physically, and was of pro- 
iu)unced religious views, giving adherence to 
the Presbyterian Faith. 

Five children were born to Captain and 
Mrs. Davis, two daughters dying in infancy. 
The survivors are T. B. Davis, S. S. Davis, 
and Mary Davis, all of Rock Island. Cap- 
tain Da\-is was essentially a man of action. 
Rearing responsibilities never detractetl from 
his good nature, and an.gry words and fault 
finding were alike foreign to him. 

Kind hearted and gener(Mis to a fault , always 
reail\- to aid others to the full extent of his 
ability, and never seeking ](ul)hcity or prefer- 
ment, won foi- him the good will and personal 
popularity he enjoyed wherever he was known 



120 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



BENJAHIN FRANKLIN KNOX. 

THE mission of tlie undertaker, rightly 
estimated, is not less one of helpfulness 
and comfort than of the mere buryini;; 
of the dead for a price. Mewed in the higher 
aspect it is on a plane with that of the family 
jihysician, and but little less sacred than that 
of the minister of the gospel. The proper 
discharge of the duties calls for tact and 
genuine human sympathy. The conscien- 
tious funeral director who lal)ors for a long 
term of years in a coinniuiiity comes, through 
association in most trying times, to l^miw the 
people intimately and to be their fi-ienrl, 
regardless of their social position. 

Such a man is B. F. Knox, who for thirty- 
five years has been actively engaged in the 
undertaking business in Rock Island. Few, 
indeed, in the county are better known than 
he, and few have more close personal friends. 
Taking up the work with his father when but 
twenty years of age he has steadily followed 
the vocation since, and in his long term of 
service has at one time or another been called 
into perhaps two-thirds of the homes of Rock 
Island and the surroimding country. His 
standing in his home city may l)e judged bv 
the fact that he has repeatedly been given 
liulilic office, serving two terms as Mayor. 

H. F. Knox was born in Rock Island 
Deceml)er 3, 1852, and has never resided 
elsewhere. His education was .secured in the 
public schools of the city. When he first set 
out to earn his own living he worked in a 
grocery store. Later he had charge of the 
office of the Rock Island Union. In 1872 he 
took up the undertaking business with his 
father, Charles B. Knox, who was then 
advancing in years. The elder Mr. Knox 
was born .lune 27, ISIS, and died May 2S, 
ISi)(). His wife, Mary (lohrain Knox, was 
ijorn September 14, ISll), and died April 20, 
IS'Ci. The .son worked with his father till 
the hitter's death and thd'eafter conducted 
the business for the estate until the affairs 



were settled after his mother's death. Since 
then he has had sole charge. 

Mr. Knox has been a Republican and a 
Methodist ever since old enough to ftn-m an 
opinion on such matters. His first public 
office was as chief of the volunteer fire depart- 
ment of Rock Island, in which capacity he 
servetl in 1886 and 1887. He was elected 
alderman from the Fifth Ward in 1889, and 
at the end of the term was re-elected, serving 
continuously till 1893. He was first elected 
Mayor in 1895, and held the office for the 
term of two years. In 1901 he was again 
similarly honored, com])leting his second 
term in 1903. 

Of a congenial dis])osition. Mr. Knox de- 
lights in fraternal work. He holds member- 
ship in the Odd Fellows, Modern Wooden of 
America, Knights of the (!loi)e. North Star 
Benefit Association, the Eagles and the Elks. 
In nearly all he has held responsible offices. 
He is past exalted ruler of the Rock Island 
Elks, and twice represented them at the 
grand lodge. 

Mr. Knox, February 19, 1S75, at Rock 
Island, married Miss Emma Minter, and the 
children born of this vmion are: Lillian, 
wife of S. H. Ken worthy, of Rock Island; 
(leorge S., who died .luly 2, 1900, and Mary 
A. and Harry T., at home. 
Sg 5S )i 

JAMES A. WENDELL 

To the subject of this sketch more than 
to any other person, perhaps, is due the 
fact that the finest plant in the United 
States for the manvifacture of table oil cloth 
is now located in Hock Island. During a 
long careei' as tra\eling salesman for an 
eastern nuuuifacturei' he was impressed with 
the advantages of the up]jer Mississippi valley 
as a site for a factory, and it was the sound- 
ness of his reasoning which impressed the 
ollicei's of the Standard Oil Cloth Conii)aiiy 
and led to the location of the present factory 
on the Father of Waters at R )ck Island. 




J. A. WKNDI'.LL 




CHAHLKS B K.NOX 



// / ,s' T R I C RO C K 1 S L A N D C U N T Y 



121 



The new estahlishment , it may he addcil, pros- 
pered from the lieginning. and l)ids fair t(i see 
sul)stantial developments from time to time. 

James Augustus Wendell, sales agent for 
the Rock Island ]>laiit of the Standard Oil 
t'loth Company, and a stockholder of the 
("onipan\', was horn at Bethlehem, Pennsyl- 
vania, October '2'A. 1.S48, the son of Joseph 
Wendell, a jirominent merchant of Bethlehem. 
In the public schools of his native city, 
Bethlehem Academy and the Allentowii 
(Pennsylvania) Seminary, he obtained a 
fiood fienei'al education, and at the age of 
seventeen entered the emphiy of a wholesale 
boot and shoe house at Philatlelphia. Stall- 
ing as errand bov he rose successively to 
bookkeej^er, traveling salesman and junior 
partner, this last position being reached in 
]S71. The panic of IST:-!. lio\ve\'er, swept the 
firm imder and our subject became traveling 
salesman for a wholesale boot and shoe house 
at Kaston, Pennsylvania. In 1S77 .Mi'. \\'en- 
dell went to New York, where he tinik a 
lucrative ]M)sition as head bookkeeper in an 
extensive coffee and spice importing house. 
After four years he made aiuither change, 
becoming bookkee|)er for the .\tha i^- Hughes 
table oil cloth manufacturing concern at 
Newark, New Jersey, with headcpiarters at 
New ^'ork. This he did to escape the con- 
finement of office work, being [iromised tlie 
first vacant territory as traveling salesman. 

In 1883 the jiromise was fiillilled and .Mi'. 
Wendell took a road position in which his 
aliility qui(d<ly manifested itself. He re- 
maineil with this concern till 1 ()()(), when it 
was purchased by the Standard people. In 
this jieriod he traveled in e\'ery section of the 
United States, and always met with success. 
The transfer of the business did not affect 
his work and he continue! in the same 
capacity under the new owners. While with 
Atha A; Hughes he had advocated the advisa- 
bility of erecting a factory on the Mississippi 
River, and it seemed at onf> time that his 
dream was to be realized. Then the o|)por- 



tunity to sell came and the project was 
dro]>ped. The same ]"ilan was later laid 
before the Standard Table Oil Cloth ('.onip- 
an\', and Ro(d< Island was suggested as the 
site on account of its advantages as a dis- 
tributing ])oint. Kventually another man 
was sent to the Mi.ssissi]ii)i \'alley to select a 
location for a factory and lie, too, recom- 
mended Rock Island. Thus it came al:)out 
that in IDOL' the R(Hd< Island factory was 
erecteil ami .Mr, Wendell was sent west to 
sell its ])roducts. The new plant has a 
capacity of 2,500 |)ieces of twelve yards each, 
daily, and it has never been idle a da\- on 
account of lack of orders. 

In 1!M)2 Mr. \\'eiidell was sent to I'lurope 
bv his employers to gather new ideas and 
lind new markets for the lirm's wares. He 
was given a free hand and co\ered Iwehc 
countries of central Europe in one hundred 
da\s. his mission being an uncpialified success. 

The subject of this sketch was married 
.liily 28, 1S71, uniting with Anna H. Shemelia, 
daughter of .Michael Shemelia, of Camden, 
New .lersey. Tlie c-ouple li;i\-e three children: 
Mary Charlotte, wife of William A. Drabble, 
of Newark, New Jersey; Lillian Hazleton, 
wife of William T. VanArsdale, general agent 
for the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Com- 
pany, wi(h oliices at Peoria: and Elliott 
Hughes, a gr.aduate of Vale in the class of 
1!I05, and now also in the emiiloy of Charles 
Scribner's Sons, New "i'ork City. 

Mr. Wendell is a communicant of Trinity 
Episcopal ('hiirch, of Rock Island. He is a 
menilier and trust(>e of Rock Island Lodge, 
No. !)S(). Bene\-olent and Protective Order (}f 
l''lks, and also holds nieiubership in the Hock 
Island Club. 

•» IS m 
EDWIN B. KNOX. ' 

ONh] of the earliest born residents of Rock 
Island County is Edwin B. Kiio\, of 
Moline. Since October 15, is 12, when 
he first saw the light of dav at Hock Island, 



122 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Mr. Knox has cc)ntinuously made his home 
in one of these two cities or their immediate 
vicinity. At the time of his birth, Rock 
Island, then known as Stephenson, was but 
a fair sized village and Moline but a settle- 
ment. His 'parents, Charles B. and Mary 
(Gorhani) Knox, then lived in the middle of 
the present block east of Twentieth street, 
opposite Spencer Square, and the son first 
attended school in a small brick school house 
in the middle of Spencer Square. Later he 
pursued his studies in the basement of the 
old Methodist Church, located in the early 
fifties in the northwest corner of the same 
square. He finished the common branches 
at what was the first high school erected in 
the city at Seventh Avenue and Twenty- 
first Street. 

The ]5arents of our sul)ject came to Steph- 
enson in the Spring of 1S42, their financial 
re.sources consisting at the time they landed 
from the steamboat that had brought them 
from St. Louis, of a single shilling. The 
father, though a cabinet maker of ability, 
sought work at anything that offered, putting 
much of the time for the first two or three 
seasons digging wells for the new settlers, 
and making furniture at odd moments, till 
he secured a start. 

Charles B. Knox was born at Blandford , 
Massachusetts, June 27 LSIS, and died May 
28, 1890. He was a grandson of four broth- 
ers who came to America from Scotland soon 
after the Revolutionary war and settled in 
the Bay State. Mary Gorham was born at 
Holyoke, Massachu.setts September 14, 1S19. 
and died April 20, 1893, at Rock Island. 
Her marriage to Mr. Knox took [ilace at 
Blandford, Massachusetts, April 9, 1839. 
Six children were born to tlie couple: Ivlwin 
B., John Milton, Theodore, Curtis B., Sanuul 
1\, and ]'. Lrank Knox. John Milton and 
Theodore died in infancy and the others are 
still living. 

As before stated, Edwin B. Knox secured 
an edvication in the ordinary branches in the 



public schools of Rock Island. The Summer 
he was twelve years of age he set out as a 
l)read wiimer. working at a brick yard con- 
ducted by John Atkinson south of towm. 
The following Summer he found emjiloyment 
under John P. Wharton, editor of the Rock 
Island Advertiser. In the Summer of 1857 
Mr. Knox and Thomas Pilgrim farmed the 
Brashar ])lace on the Milan road in South 
Rock Island. In 1858 and 1859 Mr. Knox 
worked the Erskine Wilson farm just east of 
Coaltowm. Two following years were spent 
tilling the soil in what was then the Glen 
settlement and then our subject returned to 
Rock Island and began the manufacture of 
brooms. This he continued till the spring 
of 1864, wdien he enlisted, May 3, in Company 
G, One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment. 
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving as First 
Sergeant. On completing his term he again 
entered the Army with Company G, Forty- 
seventh Illinois Vohmteer Infantry, being 
Orderly Sergeant. His last term of enlist- 
ment began February 27, 1865, and he was 
mustered out at Selma, Alabama, January 
21, 1866. 

.\fter the close of the war Mr. Knox took 
ujj house jiainting, first with George Alters 
and later with Henry Boggess as partners. 
In 1870 he purchased and occupied a fruit 
farm of thirty acres northeast of Black 
Hawk's Watch Tower. Four years later he 
disposed of his land and took up his residence 
in Moline, where he established the under- 
taking business which he has conducted with 
great success ever since. For thirty-three 
years he occupied the building at 413 Fifteenth 
Street, having also a picture framing and art 
novelty establishment. In 1S96 he sold the 
Fifteenth Street property and built a new 
store and residence at the corner of Eigh- 
teenth Street and Fifth Avenue. 

Mr. Knox has been many times honored 
with election to i;)ulilic office. When he had 
been a resident of Moline for but four years 
he was, in 1878, chosen to represent the 




WALTER JOHx\SOX 



// I ST RI C R C K I >s' /. .1 N D C U N T V 



12:5 



Third \\'ar(l in the City Ciiuiicii. He served 
aiiaiii in tiie same caiiai-itx' in ISSl and 1SS2, 
and in the Spline iiF ISS.'i \\as ehn'teil Mayoi'. 
succcpdins S. W. Wheel(Kd<, ami scrxcd one 
term. Latci' lie was cliosen nieiulier nF tiie 
hoard (if su|ier\icirs of Hock island ('(luntw 
He alsii filled I he offiee nf pi-csideni nf tlie 
hoard of ed\icalion of Moline foi- a term. 
Mr. Knox is a He|iiihlican, and a man of 
iufluenee in the pai'ty. He is a niendier of 
tlie MetliodisI Chnrcli. He is a past iiolile 
ijrand in Lodf^e Xo. l.'JIi, Indejiench'nt Order 
ot ( )dd I'ellows. and a memliei' of H. H. 
(iraliam I'ost. Xo. 'A\2. (Irand .\rm\' of the 
Repuhlic, in which he has ser\('il two terms 
as ])ost comm.ander. 

Mr. Knox was nidted in marriage Septem- 
l.K>r f.i. 1S()S, witli Miss Lizzie \"erhareii, 
youngest (hiuiihter of .Vnton and Mary 
(Lindsey) \'erhai'en. Tlie p.-irents came to 
America from (iei'manw their nali\'e c:)untr\', 
and located at Ivist St. Louis, where the 
father died many years a.no. The couple 
were the parents of sL\ childi-en: Henry, 
h'rank and William Verharen, .Vmeli;i, wife 
of Peter yehwin; (lertrude. wife of |)a\'id 
Thompson, of Ho(d< Island; and Mi-s. Knox. 
All save the last named were hoi-n in (lermaiiy, 
Mrs. Knox's native city l)einj;' Alton, Illinois. 
( )f the fannly , .\melia. Frank and I Icnry have 
passeil aw,'i\. The mother dieil ()ctolier 17, 
LS(il), at liock Island. Two children were 
hoi'ii to .Mr. and .Mrs. Knox: .\my, wife of 
Ivohert liennett, Jr.. of Ho(d< Island, and 
Luther (_'. Kno.x, of Moline. 
m "is ^ 

WALTER JOHNSON. 

MR. WALTI'lK' .lOllXSOX, Ihesuh.ject of 
this sketch, died in lio(d; Island, 
Xovemher 2:?, 190;>. lie \v,-is foi- a 
third of a century one of the \ilal foi'ces of 
the coniimmity. i'dr t w i'nty-se\en \-ears he 
occui)ied tlie editorial chair of the Daily 
I'niiiH. in which position he at all limes was 
an ahle and coura.neous champion of that 



which he considei-ed i'ii;lit. and calculated to 
make the community hetter. His editorial 
utterances carried weight not onl\' hecaiise 
of I heir intrinsic merit and evident fairness 
ill the presentation of the suhjects under dis- 
cussion, hut hecaiise it was recoi;iiized 
t hroiiiihout the comnmiiity that tliev rejire- 
senleil the honest and calm .judgment of a 
man who in his pri\ate life exemplified his 
puhlic utterances, and who at all times was 
actuated hy the prini'iples and mofi\-es of 
the Christian t!;enlleiiiaii of the hij^hest type, 

Mr. .lolmson was horn in London. iMi.nland, 
April 27. lS4o, hein.i; a son of .hihn 1'". and 
Ilarriette .\unusta (Hyley) .lolmson. The 
elder .\lr. Johnsini. who was a rihhon m;mii- 
facliirer in I'jn.gland, came to this country in 
LS,')1, settling at ^^'elt;ln, Iowa, at which 
place and Lyons, low.a, he en.Ka.iied in ficneral 
merchandisinii, in connci-tion with farmiim, 
until Ls(.)2, when he rencncd to I laxcnport , 
where he enga,s;ed in the grocery trade until 
1S()7, when he reiuox-ed to Rock Islaiid, which 
cit)- was his lioiiic until his de.atli in INSS. 

Waller .lohnson, whose ediicat ion,-il oppor- 
tunities in iMiuland and Iowa were supple- 
mented hy pri\'ate stiidw inspireil h\- the 
inlluence of culliired parents, his mother 
hrin.nin,u' to W'elton the lirsl piano cxcr seen 
in that section of the country, earl\- e\inced 
a prediliction for newspa|ier work; hut he 
loyally assisted his father in his mercantile 
\'entures until he attained his majorit\ , when 
he accepted a pi, ace on t he st at'f of the 1 )a\'eii- 
port I >i iiiiicidl . In I.S(i,S he hecaiiie the local 
editor oi the Paily I'liimi. and his connection 
with that paper continued until his death, 
with tli(> exception of the Summer and 
Winter ol' 1S7M, when he was on the editorial 
stall' ol the ('hicagd I iih r-OfidU. liet urniii,i; 
to Rock Island in ihe Sprin,<i, of 1S7-I. he 
hoiight a fourth interest in the I'nioii I'riiit- 
iiiii ('(Uiipaii)-. which had heen organized a. 
tew months helorc to Lake o\-er th(> properl\' 
from Captain L. M. Ila\'ersti(d<. .Mr. .lolm- 
son succeeded .Mr. ila\'erstick as editor ol 



124 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the Union and continued in the active dis- 
charge of the work until his health failed. 
Mr. Johnson succe.ssively purchased the 
interests of other stockholders until in 1891, 
by acquiring the holdings of i\Ir. H. C. Ash- 
baugh, he secured control of all the stock. 

Mr. Johnson's editorial ])()licy was invari- 
ably on a high ]:ilane. He abhorred sensa- 
tionalism, and the parading of happenings of 
a salacious nature in the columns of the 
paper, which for such a long ])eriod bore the 
impress of his wholesome personality and 
estimable character. The community looked 
upon him as an ahle advocate of all measures 
and movements which were calculated to 
minister to the elevation of mankind, and a 
convincing champion of the best interests of 
the community in which he lived. He had 
the faculty of presenting matters of local 
concern with a grace anil charm pecidiar to 
himself, while his discussion of political topics 
was marked by a luoidity and lireath of view 
which made theni \'aluable contributions to 
current sym]josiums. His editorial utter- 
ences received additional weight from the 
fact that the element of ])ei-s(iual rancor was 
ever absent. Of a manly and generous nature 
he was loyal in his friendshi]is. and chival- 
rous in his treatment of those who diffei'cd 
with him concerning men and measures. A 
Repulilican by conviction, his newsjiajjer, the 
Union, was recognized as a sound and influ- 
ential ex])onent of the party's policies and 
doctrines. 

Beside his constant work in his editdrial 
capacity, Mr. Johnson also gave jjersonal 
service at the sacrifice of much needed leisure. 
He took special pleasure in his work as a 
director of the Public Library. He became 
a member of the board in ISOO, and served 
continuousK' until his death. He was a 
meml)er of the building committee which 
directed the erection of the present si)lendid 
home of the library. In ISUl. when l{')ck 
Island, by ('ongregional enactment, was made 
a port of entry, I'l'esident Harrison ajjpointed 



Mr. Johnson surveyor of customs, a position 
he held for three years, when President 
Cleveland appointed Mr. J. R. Johnston to 
succeed him. 

Religiously, Mr. Johnson was an Episco- 
palian. He was a devout meml)er of Trinity 
Church, and diligent and useful in the activi- 
ties of the parish. He served the parish for 
a number of years as vestryman, and during 
the last three years of his life as Junior Warden. 

Mr. Johnson was married in this city March 
22, 1869, to Miss Ellen Head, daughter of Mr. 
and Mrs. William A. Head, who survives, 
together with two daughters, the Misses 
Harriette A. and Marguerite Johnson. One 
son, Eliot Leigh Johnson, was drowned in a 
boating accident on the Mississippi River 
April 12, 1892, when a boat containing four 
high school student was ujiset, resulting in the 
drowning of J^eigh and one of his comrades. 

^ m m 
SAMUEL SHARPE DAVIS, 

IN consi<lering those among Rock Island's 
citizens whose activities have been directed 

toward developing that City's industries, 
and whose foresight has been rewarded in a 
most substantial manner, one's mind instinc- 
ti\ely turns to the subject of our ])resent 
sketch, Samuel Sharpe Davis. 

He was born February 1, 1858. at Coving- 
ton. Kentuidiv, his parents being .bihn R and 
Anna E. (8harpe) Davis. To this couple 
three children were born: Thomas B., Sam- 
uel S., and Mary. The parents were of 
Scotch-Irish origin. Thomas Bodley Davis, 
the paternal grandfather was a native of 
Pennsylvania. In early life he moved to 
Kentucky, and for some years served as 
captain of a steaml)oat ])lying between Pitts- 
burg and New Orleans on the Ohio and 
Mississi])pi Rivers. U])on one of the trips 
u|i river from New Orleans he was stricken 
with yellow fever, and tiled before the coni- 
l)letion of the journey. At the time of his 
death he was thirty-four years of age. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 125 

The maternal graiulfather, Sanniel K. was a staiiiu'li Deiiiocrat. He was a ])rnnii- 

Sharpe. was a native of Kentucky. He was iient Mason and a ilevoted memlioi- of (lie 

a ]iracticin,ii pliysician and surgeon. The I'reshyterian Church, in which faith he diccl. 

fireater part of his life was spent in M.ays- Ha\in,L!: t Inis passed I'apidly over the points 

ville. Kentuid-iy. He removed to lio(d< Island of interest in the li^•es of the forelie;irs of oui' 

with his wife in 1.S75. Her death occurred subject, we now come to treat of his life. 

in ISSl at the a.tie of seveidy-si.\ years. Her His edtication was obtained in the schools <if 

husband sui'vived hei' rune years, his death Memphis, Tennessee, and in l{ock Island, 

occurrin.u in Hock Island in ISilO. at the In 1S73 he was employed as clerk on the 

extreme a,!i;e of ninety yeai-s. Itr. Sliarpe steamer Montaiui, a, boat conniKUided by 

was a renuirkably stroUiH man, both physically his father. He continued in this service for 

and mentally, and was of i)ronounce<l religious sevei'al seasons, attendinj;; school during; the 

conviction, itivinji his adhei'ence to (he I'res- Winter months. In 1 .S7(i hi.s father had a 

b\t(M'i.nn faith. In politics he was a 1 )emo- llovernment contract to carry supplies from 

ci-at. P.isuKU'ck, Dakota, up the Missouri, Yellow- 

,lohn I'>, Davis, the father of our subject, stone and Bi,ti Hoiai Uivcrs to the place 

followed the callin.a; of his father, th.it of a where the Custer Massacre occurreil. Upon 

river captain, almost his entire life, piiiu-i- this expedition he was accompanied by his 

palh' upon the Ohio and Mississip])i Ki\-ers. son. Ciion their i-eturn to Rocd'C Islaml the 

l'"or some time he had charge of Canailian son was employed as (derk for .J. H. banfiley, 

(lovernnient lioats carrying the supplies of who was a,ii'ent for a line of boats in the St. 

the Hudson Ha\' I'ur Company on the Sas- Louis and St. Paul trade. On .laiuiary 1, 

katchewan River. .\t the outbreak of the I.ST.S, he was emi)loyed l)y Thonuis ^'ates in 

Civil War he enlisted in the Second Minnesota i\Ioline, where he was en.KUfiod in the ]ilumbin}^ 

\'olunteer Infantry. He was promoted to and steam fitting business. He continued in 

the rank of Major and for nearly three yeai's this employment until lh(> death of Mr. 

he served with his Regiment. He was with Yates, which occurred in ISSl. Mr. Da\is 

his He.giment in the battles of Chickamaug;i, and his brother, Thomas M. I)a\is, ha<l 

Mill Sprin.gs, Corinth and Tullahoiiui. \\ the obtained a number of valu.alile patents upon 

battle of Chi(d<ania.uga he was wnunded. steam appliances, anil together with .lacob 

During the tinu' that .Major Da\-is served liiley of Piock Island, they formed a partner- 

with his Regiment it was attaclu'd first to ship known as " Davis & Company." They 

the command of (leneral I5uell and later to bought out the Ijusiness inter(>sts of the 

that of (ieneral Tlauiias. \'ates estate both in Rock Island .-ind .Moline. 

.\fter the chi.se of the Civil War Maj<ir In 1 S,S2 the Davis brothers bought out .Mr. 
Da\-is went to Augusta, Arkansas, and later Riley's interest in the busiiu^ss and con- 
located at Memi)his, Tennessee, in INtJS. tinuecl it themselves imtil ISDI, when the 
He settled pernuuiently in Rock Island in Da\is ("(unpany was iiu/orporaled by them. 
1S74. He spent the greater portion of his .Meanwhile our subject was engaged in 
life upon the river in command of t he diri'iTcnt ni:iny important ()]ierati<ins. lie planiu'd 
ii\er packets. After coming to Rock Islaml .-md superintended the construction of (he 
he was luie of the Diamond .lo Line captains Moline water-works, which was liegun in the 
mitil about one year before his death, which Spring of 1SS4. He also installed the first 
occiu'red in 1<S9(), when he was si\fy-oiu' electric light |ilant in the City of Moline. In 
years of age. His wife still makes Ro(d< 1 S,S() he constructed the Da\us I'lock in that 
Island her honu'. Politically, Majoi' l)a\'is citw ami as secretai'y and man.agei- of the 



1 ■_'(; 



// / N T O R I (' ROC K I S LAND CO U N T Y 



JMerchants' Klectric I.ijiiit ('oin]iany, lighted 
the streets of Moline. Kijihty arc light.s were 
installed, which superseded tiie old street 
gas lamps with which the city had furuierly 
lieen lighted. 

In 1887 the Peoples Light A: Fuel Manu- 
facturing Company was organized. Of this 
organization Mr. Davis was elected secretary 
and general manager. He purchased the 
stock of the Moline (!as A: ("oke Company and 
merged the institution with that of the 
Merchants Electric Light Company. 

In 1S8S the Merchants Electric Light 
Company of Rock Island was organized. In 
the Autumn of that same year a ])ower plant 
was erected in Moline, so arranged as to 
utilize that city's splendid water power in 
its operation. The machinery of the Peoples 
Light k Fuel JIanufacturing Company of 
Moline, as well as that of the Merchants 
Electric Light Compaii}' of P.ock Island, was 
removed to this new power plant. This 
arrangement led up to the formation of the 
Peoples Power Company in 1893. This latter 
organization, which included the comjianies 
in which Mr. Davis was already interested, 
bought out the Rock Island Brush Electric 
Light Coni])any and the Rock Island Gas it 
Coke Comjiany. Both of these plants were 
remo\-ed to Moline. where they were located 
at the foot of I'ourth Street in that city. 
Mr. l)a\is ])lann('d the reorganization and 
also the construction of the new ]ilants. He 
sold his interests in the I'eojiles Power 
Company in 1900. 

On September 21, 1892, occurred the 
marriage of Samuel Shar]ie Davis and Miss 
A|)ollonia Weyerhaeuser, the daughter of 
Frederick and Sarah Weyerhaeuser. One 
child has been born of this marriage, a son, 
Edwin W. Davis. 

Mr. Davis in his chui'cii allegiance is a 
PresJjyterian ami is a trustee of the Broadwav 
Presbyterian Church of Rock Island, in 
politics he is a Democrat, !)ut he has ne\'er 
desired or lield ))n])lic ofiice. Fraternally he 



is a member of Trio Lodge, No. .57. Ancient, 
I'ree and Accepted Masons; of Barrett Chap- 
ter, No. 18, and of Evarts Coninuindery, No. 
18. Knights Templar. He is also a member 
of the Knights of I'ythias and of the Modern 
Woodmen of America. Such are the inter- 
esting events in the career of a man who, 
through business sagacity and acumen, has 
risen to a commanding position in this 
locality's financial and industrial circles. Mr. 
Davis is a man universally liked by all who 
are acquainted with him. Although at all 
times a bu.sy man he is easily approachable. 
In manner he is unassuming and without 
ostentation. He is one of Rock Island's 
most iiublic si)irite(-l and ])rogressive citizens, 
and no movement for the real advancement 
of the city is launched that does not receive 
his active and hearty co-operation, and where 
the |)roject is one that recjuires financial 
subscription his gift is always a liberal one. 
In fine it may be said that Mr. Davis is pre- 
eminently an organizer and an executive, a 
man of great business talent, and a courteous, 
kindly gentlenuin. 

n "^ n 
HENRY STELCK. 

HENRY ST1*]1,CK, a proniising young 
member of the Rock Island Comity bai-, 
is a native of the City of Rock Island, 
lia\iiig been born there IVbruary 12, 1878, 
His father was Peter Stelck and his mother 
Caroline (Koester) Stelck. Both the parents 
immigrated to America from CJermany. Mr. 
Stelck, the elder, was born in \S'i'?> in Wisch, 
Pro])stei, Schleswig-Holstein. The mother 
was born in Lensah in the same state in 1845. 
The father located in Rock Island in 1867, 
after having for ten years immediately follow- 
ing his removal to America, been a resident 
of Davenport, Iowa. The parents of the 
subject of this sketch were married in 1869, 
the mother dying May 27, 1883, and the 
father .January 4, 1897. Of the seven children 
born to them live are living: Emma, wife 



// / S T R I C R (• K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



127 



of W. W. Harris, of Rock Island; Bertha, 
wife of Dr. O. P. Sala. of Davenport; Elliza- 
lietii (1., and Henry, of Rock Island, and 
William, of Laketiold, .Minnesota. 

Our sul)ject obtained his first schoolinj;; in 
the Roessler (iernian school of Rock Island. 
Later he alten<leil the (lei'nian I>utheran 
school ami eventually he entered the public 
schools, from which he graduated in ISIM, 
after conipl(>tin<!; the hij^h school course. 
After one year s])ent as a student at Augus- 
tana College he took up the study of law 
with Wood, Huttcrworlh A- Peek, of .Moline. 
His ])rofessional training was eompleteil with 
a three-year coiu'se at Northwestern Uni- 
versity Law School. Shortly after beginning 
to practice he formed a partnershi]i with 
i\I. M. Sturgeon. kno«-n as Sturgeon cV* Stelck, 
later l)ec(.)tning Sturgeon, Stelck i^- Sturgeon 
which jiartnershi]) was later tlissoh'ed. 

In the practice of law Mr. Stelck has mani- 
fested more than average al.)ility. He is 
above all sham anil pretense and his honesty 
and candor have won him friends on all 
hands. He is a Republican and has lieen 
more or less active in jiolitics. Fraternally 
he is a member of the Masons. 



JYLVE5TER WASHINGTON McMASTER,. 

ALMOST the only living indix'idual among 
those earliest settlers who came to R(}ck 
Island County in the thirties and forties, 
when the present City of Rock Islaml was a 
small village, known as Ste])lienson, is Syl- 
vester Washington McMaster, a man whom 
nearly every man, woman ami child through- 
out Rock Island County knows, either person- 
ally or by rei)utation. 

He was born October S. ISll, near Water- 
town, in Herkimer County, New York, and 
died January 22, lilOS, at the age of ninety- 
six years. His early life was spent upon a 
farm and he received such education as he 
could in the country schools of that time. 
At tlie age of nineteen vears he himself was 



a school teacher, having charge of the same 
school wliich he had formerly attended as a 
pu)iil. 

.Ml'. McMaster came West in ISIv?, traveling 
by water from the City of Huf^'alo in his native 
State. The canal at that time was com- 
pleted fnun Cleveland, Oliio, to Portsmouth, 
in the same state, and connecting with the 
Ohio River. Coming fii'st to Cairo, Illinois, 
Mr. McMaster proceeded to St. Louis, and 
from thence to Oalena, Illinois, on tlie 
Mississippi. 

At that early da\- there were but few 
houses in the village of Stephenson, and but 
one in what is now Davenport, that of 
Antoine LeCIaire. Mr. McMaster sjient two 
years (1833 and 1834) at Galena and then 
returned to St. Louis, where he s]ient al)out 
two years, fnuu there coming to Stephenson 
again, and here he made his home until 1 841. 
During this time he was engaged in the 
mercantile lousiness. He also served one 
term as assessor. The store biiilding occu])ied 
by the firm of McMaster & Andrews still 
stands, it being what is now known as the 
Roessler building, directly east fiom the 
Court House. 

In 1S4() Mr. .McMaster was united in nuu'- 
riage to Miss Jannette Brooks, who died 
.\ugust 17, 1008, at the age of eighty-four 
years, whose pai'ents had come to Stephenson 
in 1835 and dwelt in a log house near the spot 
where the luune of the Honoraljle Ben T. 
Cattle is now located. Mr. and Mrs. McMaster 
continuetl to make their home in Stephenson 
until 1S41, when they removed once more 
to Galena, where Mr. McMaster was engaged 
in various enterprises of a mercantile nature. 
Galena was at that time the metropolis of the 
Northern part of Illinois. The lead mines were 
at theii' zeiuth and the town was very jiros- 
perous. In ( ialena Mr. McMaster was actively 
engaged in the nunuigement of some of the 
largest and costliest flour mills at that time 
in the West, and he was also a large stock- 
li<il<ler in the old Northern Line steamers. 



128 



HISTORIC HOC K I S L AND COUNT Y 



At this time steamboating upon the Missis- 
sippi was in the full flower of its glory, and 
the raih'oad was not a factor in the transpor- 
tation. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. 
McMaster served as a conscript officer. He 
was not engaged in active service, being at 
that time beyond the age limit at which 
volunteers were received for active, military 
service. 

Mr. and Mrs. McMaster continued to make 
their home in Galena until 1866, when, with 
their family, they returned to Rock Island, 
and here Mr. McMaster has lived a retired 
life since that time. He served a number of 
years as president of the board of education, 
and was also president of the library board. 
In the work of the jniblic schools he has 
always taken the keenest interest, and until 
very recently was one of the most frequent 
of visitors throughout the various school 
buildings of Rock Island. 

On May 17, 1906, Mr. and Mrs. McMaster 
celebrated the sixty-sixtli anniversary of 
their marriage. Their union has been blessed 
with three children: Mrs. Mary Blackburn, 
of Rock Island; Mrs. .Tannette Bansemer. of 
Torreon, Mexico; and George McMaster, 
secretary of the Mutual Wheel Company, 
at .Moline, Illinois. 

In religious faith .Mr. .McMaster was a 
Universalist, but finding that the church of 
his choice had no house of worship in Rock 
Island he became an attendant of the Broad- 
way Presbyterian Church. 

In politics he was originally a Whig, but 
joined the Republican party Tipon its forma- 
tion, and has been a stauiicli adxocate of its 
principles since 1856. 

He is the author of a book entitled 
"Sixty Years on the Upper Mississippi," 
and is one of the very few men who have 
seen Rock Island grow from a primitive 
backwoods settlement to what it is to- 
day, and his book is full of reminiscences 
of those early days and of the advenlures 



and exjieriences of himself and his acquaint- 
ances. 

K K i8 

CHARLES R. NOUR.SE. 

BORN in Missouri, reared in Obio and now 
engaged in manufacturing in Illinois, 
three great states have had to 'do with 
the career of the subject of this sketch. 
Charles Robert Nourse was born in St. Louis 
December 27, 1864, the son of Gilbert D. and 
Almira J. (Keith) Nourse. When eight years 
of age the family removed to Cleveland and 
six years later to Springfield. In the public 
schools of the two Ohio cities the son obtained 
his early education. In early manhood he 
liecame liookkeeper with a manufacturer of 
children's carriages at Springfield, and later 
he became connected with the Whitely inter- 
ests, then among the most extensive engaged 
in the manufacture of harvesters. 

Leaving Springfield in 1889, Mr. Nourse 
engaged in various pursuits till 1893, when he 
removed to Youngstown, Ohio. Here he 
took a position with the United Engineering 
and Foundry Company and remained for 
eleven years. In 1904 he removed to Rock 
Island to assume charge of the new plant of 
the Standard Oil Cloth Company, in which 
capacity he has met with unqiuilified success. 

Mr. Nourse is one of the many workers who 
are too busy to hold pu])lic office. He has 
never taken an active part in politics beyond 
the exercise of the franchise. He affiliates 
with the Republican party. He united with 
the Masonic fraternity early and is now a 
member of W'estern Star Lodge, No. 21, 
Youngstown Chapter, No. 93, and St. John's 
Commandery, No. 20, all of Youngstown; 
and Kaaba Temple, Nobles of the Mystic 
Shrine, of Davenport, Iowa. He is also a 
member of Youngstown Council, No. 387, of 
the Royal Arcanum. 

Mr. Nourse was united at Springfiehl in 
1884 with Miss Rose J. Henry, and they have 
one son, Robert C, born in 1889. 




JAM]-:s! B TITTERIXGTUN 



HISTORIC ROCK IS L A N D CO V N T Y 



129 



JAMES B. TITTERINGTOIM. 

A'rVl'I('AI> cxaiiiiilc nf the y'wWe iiiaii- 
IidikI (iF Hcick Islanil Cmiiily is the sub- 
ject (if this sketch. Horn in P)uffal<i 
Prairie Tiiwnshi|), he resisted the hire cif tiie 
city anil nf the ,!ireat west tn which sn many 
(if his ImivIkkkI c(inipani(ins yielded and set 
himself t(i tiie task of extracting wealth from 
the old home farm. After more tlian sixty 
years sj^ent there lie has now ri^tired and is 
enjoyinfi; the fruits of his hiliors as a resident 
of the City of Rock Island. 

Mr. Titterington is a tie.scendant of one of 
the oldest and most honored families of the 
county. His father, James Titterington. sen- 
ior, was liorn in ISOfl, in Vork.shire, England, 
and came to America witli his inirents when 
a hid of tweh'e years. Tiie grandfatlier, 
Tliomas Titterington, settled first in Ross 
County, Oliio, but after a few years removed 
to Rock Island County (in 1,S3S) t(i make his 
home with his children, John, James, Moses 
and Charles, all now deceased. Before leav- 
ing Ohio the father of our suliject was married 
til Miss l,ena Reall, daughter of William 
Heall. I'pon coming to Illinois he entered 
one Ininilicd and sixty acres of land in Buffalo 
I'rairie Township and devoted the remainder 
of his life to its cultivation and improvement. 
He dii'd iin tiie old homestead in INTO. His 
wife passetl away in 1S93. 

James, the son. was born May 30, 1.S43, and 
was one of a family of six children, the others 
lieing: Mr.s. David Ho])es, now dead some 
years; Jane, widow of the late Robert S. 
Miintgom('r\', and now of Hock Island; Mary 
E., who died at the age of fourteen years; 
William T., who died July 2, 1907, and 
Thomas, who passed away in infancy. .lames, 
when he reached manhood, settled \ipon the 
old home farm and eventually became its 
owner, luiying out the other heirs. He 
added to the original two hundred acres till 
he had four hundred and forty acres of as fine 
soil for agricultural purposes as is to be found. 



As mav be imagined from his material pros- 
peritv. Mr. Titterington was industrious and 
enterprising. He was, in fad, one of the 
must progressive farmers of the conimunity, 
;inil attaineil a high standing in the esteem of 
his fellow men besides. Slock feeding was 
his s|iecialty, and he also dealt in live stock 
with success. He retired fi-oiii llir farm and 
liecame a resident of Rock Island in 1907. 

Mr. Titterington cast his hrst \(ite for 
.\braliam Lincoln and has since steadily su])- 
porlcd the nominees of the Republican party. 
I.ocalh- he was accorded a considerable degree 
of piilifical leadership and was honored by 
his |iarty in various ways. He ser\ed folii' 
terms as member of the board of supervisors, 
and was highway commissioner for a number 
of years. Hesitles he often served as delegate 
to county and district conventions. Unlike 
many who lea\(' the farm, .Mr. Titterington 
did not (lela\' his removal to the city till 
bidkcu in health. He is still in full mental 
and physical ^•ig(lr and the same tjualities 
that won him high regard as a resident of 
iMlgington are still daily making him new 
and firm friends. 

K° SI S° 

DAVID W. MATTHEWS. 

DA\TI) W. .MATTHI';\\S, supervisor of 
I'lack H.awk Townsliiji, jiresident of the 
lUack Hawk Good Roads Association, 
and farmer and stock raiser, is a native of 
Illinois, having been born in Mercer County 
.March 22. IS.'jJ. His parents were Dr. 
.lames S. and .Mary ,1. (Willson) .Matthews, 
both nati\es of I'ennsylwmia, and of Scotch- 
Irish descent. Mr. Matthews was liorn Jan- 
uary 1. l.S2."i, and his wife August IS, 1,S29. 
Thev wei'e united in marriage in their native 
state and in flie fall of l.S.^3 reniox'ed t(i 
Mercer County, Illinois, and settled at Pre- 
em)itiiin. There Dr. Matthews took up the 
practice of medicine, which he liail followed 
before coming west. In 1 S(>.3 the family 
removed to the Citv of Rock Island and two 



130 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



years later settletl en a farm two miles south- 
west of Milan. There the doctor continued 
to practice medicine till his death, Decemlier 
3, 1893. The widow still survives. To Dr. 
and Mrs. Matthews were horn four children: 
Willson, Clarence (deceased), David W., anil 
Wilhelmina (deceased). 

The subject of this sketch was reared on 
the farm and agricultm-e has been his chief 
occupation. He received his education in 
the public schools of Rock Island and Milan. 
At the age of nineteen he began teaching 
school and followed that vocation contin- 
uously for thirteen years. Then he settled 
on the farm on which he has continuously 
made his home since. 

Mr. Matthews, imtil 1888, was a Republi- 
can in politics, but at that time became a 
Democrat and has since affiliated with the 
latter party. In 1897 he was elected clerk 
of Black Hawk Township, and in 1898 he 
was chosen collector. In 1904 he was elected 
supervisor of Black Hawk Townshiii, and 
was re-elected two years later. In 1904 and 
1906 he was the choice of his i)arty for con- 
gress in the P'ourteenth district. In each 
case he reduced a nornuxl Republican major- 
ity, the second time by sixty-five per cent. 

Mr. Matthews is an energetic and public 
spirited man with a character above reproach. 
He has always taken an active interest in :ill 
movements for the betterment of the com- 
munity. His acti\-ity in the good roads 
movement led to liis being sent as delegate 
from the county to the State flood Roads 
convention at Springfield in 1904, from which 
place he was also sent as state delegate to 
the nternational Good Roads con\cii1ion at 
St. Louis in the same year. 

Mr. Matthews was marricnl at .Milan Sc|i- 
tember 13, 1S77, to Miss Mary .M. P.radley. 
The latter was born in Milan Se|>toiiibor .'>. 
1855, the daughter of Nathaniel !). and 
FJlizabeth (Dickson) Hradley. Mr. and Mrs. 
Matthews became the j)arents of three chil- 
dren: Elizabeth (decea.sed), ('. S(anle\- ami 



Jessie D., Ijoth at home. ilr. Matthews is a 
gentleman in every sense and deservedly 
popular with all who have the pleasure of his 
accpiaintance. He is a member of the Mystic 
Workers of the AA'orld and Court of Honor. 
He and his wife are leading members of the 
Milan Presbyterian Church. 

58 SSI 5S 

HENRY HOWL AND CHASE, M. D. 

HOLDING in high estimate the duties and 
res]ionsibilities which his position in- 
volved, and more than ordinarily suc- 
cessful as a medical ])ractitioner surgeon, Dr. 
Henry H. Chase is well remembered in Rock 
Island, the city in which he spent the later 
years of his life. He was an American of the 
highest tyjie. and of purest blood, as well. 
His lineage on both sides is traceable for 
many generations back on American soil. 
His mother is a direct descendant of John 
Howland of Mayflower fame. His father 
was a relative of the late Chief Justice Chase 
of the Fnited States Supreme Court. 

Ileiu'y Howland Chase was born October 
7, 1858, in Amboy, Lee County, Illinois, and 
died May 22, 1906, at Rock Island. His 
father was Albion Pierce Chase, himself a 
physician, and his mother, Deborah Gushing 
(Howland) Chase. The father was a native 
of Maine and the mother of Massachusetts. 
The couple came west and located at And)oy, 
Illirujis, in 1856, living there till the husband's 
death May 27, 1879. The father graduated 
in the School of Alapaphon, and after coming 
west took up the ]3ractice of Homeopathy, and 
has practiced in both schools after that. 

Our subject received his general education 
in the public schools of Amboy, at a school 
for boys at Waltham, Massachusetts, and the 
State Normal at Bloomington, Illinois. His 
professional training was received at the 
Cliicago Homeopathic College, from which 
he gradiuited in 1881. 

Dr. Chase first began practicing at Geneseo, 
Illinois, where he was located eight years. 




CHAS. McHUGH 



// / ,S T () R I C K (J (' K I S L A N D C [' N T Y 



131 



Then he I'eiiidxeil t(i l)iiliith, Miiiiiesotn, ami 
remained seven years, hecDining a memher of 
I lie state med'cal examining hoard of Minne- 
sota. In 1 S!)7 he puri'hased the [iracfice of 
Dr. C. B. Kinyoii, who left Rock Ishind to 
accept a chaii' in the University of Michigan 
at Ann Arlior al iiock Ishuid ami took u|i 
his residence in thai city, where he remained 
till his deatli. .\ few months l.icfore his 
demise he formed a |iai'tnersliip with Dr. \]. 
Bradford. 

Dr. Chase was an al tendant of the I'^piscopal 
("hurcli. In ])olitics he was a Kepnhlican. 
He was active in fraternal work, l)eing a 
member of the Knights of Pythias, Modei'ii 
Woodmen, National I'nion, IModern Pirother- 
hood of America, Woodmen of the World 
and Independent Order of Foresters. His 
sur\-iving family consists of liis wife and 
two children, the latter heing John .\lliion, 
liorn August 30, ISSS, and Katherine Trus- 
di'll. liorn i\Ia\- 'I'l. 1N!)2. The wife's maiden 
name was Adelaide I'jUgenia Trusdell. .-ind 
she was married to the doctor Decemhci- ."). 
1SS2, at Dixon, Illinois. H(>r home ]>rioi- 
to the marriage was at Newark, New Jersey, 
she lieing the daugliter of John Givean and 
Catherine (Decker) Tiaisdell. The father was 
a leading Democrat and sei-\-ed as judge and 
state senator. He died Jidy 14. 1!»()3, his 
wife lia\ing ]iassed away in March. 1 S.)S. 

His father was chief sm'geon of the North- 
ern di\-ision of the Illinois Central Railroad 
fidin the time of his I'esidence in Amliov 
mil il his dealli. 



CHARLES McHUGH. 

AMO-Nd those prominent in l)usiness, 
social and cluli life in the City of Hock 
Island, is Chaides McHugh, a man who 
through persistent industry and commercial 
acumen has wrought for himself a successful 
cai'eer. 

His ]iarents were Thomas l^^dwin and l*>llen 
(House) McHugh. His m<illier was horn in 



Syracuse, New \"oi-k : Ins fallier was a native 
of Iiiniskillin, Ireiaml, hiil i-emoved to this 
country, wdiere the siihjecl of this sketch 
was h(n-n September 3, I.S(i3, at Syracuse, 
New York. Pour ycai's l;iter his )iarents 
came west and located at Tiskilwa. in tins 
State, where his mother is still li\'ing. Here 
their son received a common school educa- 
t ion. 

.Mr. .McHugh remained in Tiskilwa until 
ISNI, when he came to Rock Island. Seeking 
employment, he oblaineil a position as bell- 
hoy at the Harper House, the hotel of which 
he is today manager and associate proprietor, 
hut which was then owned ;ind managed by 
the late Benjamin Harper. As a bell-bov 
-Mr. .McHugh receiveil the princely salary of 
ten dollars a month, hut with a firm determi- 
iiatiiiii to deserve and to attain a higher ]iosi- 
lioii lie piaid diligent attention to his duties. 
This determination upon his part 'was re- 
wariletl l:)y a promotion to :\ position as clerk 
in the hotel, which position he hekl until 
IS'.M when he, together with .1. K. .Montrose, 
purchased the numagement of the hotel from 
the Harper estate. This re(|iiired an invest- 
ment on t'u^ir pai't of S.'i.'j.OOO. 

The investment w.as a financial success, and 
in IS'JS. ilesiring to enlarge the sci)])e of their 
business, these gentlemen to(d< over the 
National House, of Peoria, Illinois, the lead- 
ing hotel of that city, at an expense of 
$411,(10(1. Again in 11103 they a.ssiimed con- 
trol of the Rock Island House, ex].)ending 
■1522, 000 in the remodeling and imiirovement 
of this hotel. 

'Success and prosperity attended each suc- 
cessive ex]3ansion of their business, and in 
I'.HH; they lea.sed the Hotel Montrose at Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa — the furnishing <if this hotel 
costing over $45,000- and in turn this hotel 
was brought u]i to that stand.-u'd of excellence 
(hat has characterized each of the other 
hostelries, and is considered l)y hotel experts 
llu^ leading hotel west of Chicago, 



132 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



From 1S9.5 until 1900 .Mr. McHugh was 
Ie.ssee of the Black Hawk's Watch Tower, 
and it was diirino; this time that the present 
spacious and popular Watch Tower Inn was 
built, and made tlie popular resort of the 
three cities. 

But Mr. McHugh 's business talents are not 
wholly confined to the control and manage- 
ment of hotels. He owns a large ranch near 
,\berdeen, South Dakota, and a six hundred 
and forty-acre farm near Olney, Illinois, and 
to these he gives some share of his personal 
attention. He is also one of the direc- 
tors of the Peojiles National Bank of 
Rock Island. 

Whatever ])ertains to the ])rogress and 
advancement of the C'ity of Rock Island 
finds a hearty supjiorter and sincere co- 
operator in Mr. McHugh. During the year 
1904 he was president of the Rock Island 
Club, an institution devoted to the fostering 
of the commercial interests of the city. In 
politics Mr. McHugh is a Democrat, and 
takes an active part in the comici's of his 
party. 

His religious connection is with the Catholic 
Church. 

On Se]3temlier 1, LSSS, he was nuu'ried to 
Mary Elizabeth Crubaugh, daughter of John 
and Sarah A, Crubaugh of Rock Island, and 
to the couple one daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, 
has been born, 

Mr. McHugh owns a beautiful rural home 
on Aiken Street in South Rock Ishind, and 
here he and his family spend the summer 
months, interspersed with numerous cruises 
upon the Mississippi River and its tributaries 
upon his house boat, "The Rambler," and 
steamer, the " Mary Mc." 

Coming to Rock Island a | • boy witlmut 

friends or influence herc^ to aid hiui, lie has 
forged his way to the front and in a 
few brief years has become oiu- of the sub- 
stantial and influential men of tlie city. 
Foresight and industry have been the keys 
that have unlocketi for him the door of success. 



NICHOLAI JUHL, 

ONE of Rock Island's best known and 
most Inisily employed building con" 
tractors is Nicholai Juhl, the subject 
of this sketch. In the large anil continuous 
building growth which Rock Island has 
undergone during the past few years, he has 
taken a conspicuous part, some of the largest 
and handsomest edifices that have been 
erected being his creation. 

He was born March 3, 1S.53, in the province 
of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, his parents 
l)eing Peter and Martha (Peterson) .luhl. 
Neither of Mr. Juhl's parents ever came to 
the United States, and both are now deceased. 

Mr. Juhl's early education was obtained in 
the common schools of his native land, and 
later in evening schools in this country, to 
which he emigrated in 1873, being then 
twenty years of age, I'pcm landing in New 
York he looked about ftu' an opportunity to 
establish himself in some useful employment, 
but soon came to the conclusion that a young 
man's chances were much better further 
west, and consequently he came to Rock 
Island, which city has since been his home. 

Here he learned the car])entering and 
brick laying trades, and found plenty of 
employment, especially in the former trade. 
For sixteen years after coming to Rock 
Island he worked foi' one man, believing in 
and acting u])on the old proxcrb that a rolling 
stone gathers lu) moss. 

In 1890 Mr. Juhl began business on his 
own account as a contractor and builder, 
since which time he has made a specialty of 
building churches, of which he has erected 
al)out forty in different parts of the country. 

On January 14, 1877, Mr. Juhl was joined 
in nuirriage to Miss Christina Lalfs, a young 
lady who was a native of the same town as 
Mr. Juhl, and who came to this country in 
1875. To them fi\e children have been born, 
they being Mary ('., wife of Philip Scherer, of 
Rock Island; Herman C, now foreman in his 



// / S TORI (' It O C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



133 



father's cstal)lishment : Amelia V. ("., wife (if 
John Cleinan, of Rock Ishuid; Nichohu M., 
employed by his father, and Otto, who is 
now attendiiiu the lim-k Island Hi,tj;h School. 

In relif^ious faith Mr. .luhl is a jjilheraii, 
and for thirteen years he has been a ti'iistee 
of the (ierrnan iMiianiicl hiithei'an Church ol 
Roek Island. In ))olitics he has always been 
a Reiiublican. but while a strong!; adherent to 
his parly he has alwa.y.s striven to vot(> foi' 
the man he considered best (pialiHed to hll 
the oliice and to serve the ])eoiile. He has 
nev(>r sou.i^ht party othce for himself, bcin.ii; 
too actively engaged in business pursuits to 
accejit party favors. 

Mr. .luhl is in every res])ect a self-made 
man. Coniine; to this country without money, 
he has, by frugality and industry, accumu- 
lateil a modest fortune. He is a man of 
boundless energy and l>usiness foresight. 
The high grade and (piality of his work is a 
monument to his skill arul integrity as a 
contractor. He is one of Rock Island's l)est 
citizens, one of the .stable, prosperous men 
I hat go to compose a stable and prosperous 
city. 

iS ig JS 

GEORGE T, WILSON, 

NOT alone to the men of daring iniliati\'e 
in the li elds of manufacture and merchaii- 
ilising does Rock Islantl County owe its 
greatness in the world of commerce, but also 
to the meclianics whose unsurpassed skill and 
industry liave contrilmted, in larger measure 
than we always realize, to our world-wide 
re))utation foi- all that is best in oiu' nuuufolil 
lines of ])roduct. In the front ratdxs of (hose 
skilled artisans is Mr. fieorge T. Wilson, the 
well known carriage iron worker, f(n-cnuni of 
the blacksmithing de))artnient of the X'clie 
Carriage Comjiany, Mr. ^^'ilson was born 
under Her Hrittanic Majesty's I-'lag, in the 
Province of Quebec, in October, 1S3!I. Fiftv- 
Ihree years later, namely, 1S92, he, with his 
wife. Mary V.. and their two sons, Kdgai' II., 



a sketch of whom ajijiears elsewhere in this 
book, and Ross P,, removed to Moline. 

As foreman of the iron department of the 
I). M. Sechler Carriage Comjiany, he con- 
tinued frir the period of seven years, when, 
his health declining, he resigned that charge 
and engaged in partnership with his elder 
son, Edgar H., in the grocery busmess, which 
the latter was conductng at the time, on 
Third A\-enue, Moline. His health failed to 
improve and he was obliged to retire from 
this business also, 

"Time heals all wounds" and often restores 
broken health, as happily was the case with 
Mr. Wilson, so that in October, 1902, he was 
able to once more take up his regulai' i)usiness, 
this time as foreman of the blacksmithing 
department of the \'elie Carriage C'ompany, 
where he is now engaged. 

Mr. Wilson has been an active member of 
the Methodist E]iiscopal Church from the 
days of his yoiuig manhood. He is a mend.)er 
of Doric Lodge, No. 319, Ancient, Free and 
.Acceijted Masons, and is regarded by judges 
as one of the best carriage iron workers in 
the state, and that means one of the best in 
the world, 

n n ^ 
CHARLES J, LARKIN. 

THK City of Rock Island has several eon- 
tractors and liuilders whose operations 
are upon a very extensive scale, and 
whose work is known, not only in the imme- 
diate \-icinity of their heme city, Ijut through- 
out the entire western part of the United 
States, where they have l.ieen engaged to 
erect hu-ge jnililic Ijuildings, manufacturing 
plants, railway depots and other edifices 
reipiii'ing the expenditure of thousands of 
doll.ars. Among the men so engaged is 
Charles .1. Larkin. 

.Mr. I.arkin was boin .Se))tember 13. 1,S.')2, 
in Schenectady, New York, and li\'ed in that 
city until he was four years of age, when his 
parents, Michael and M.ai'y (Smith) I.arkin, 



134 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



came withftheir'faniily to Rock Ishiml. -Mr. 
I.arkiii'.s parents were natives of Irelaiul. the 
father being from Galway and the motlier 
from Athlioy. County .Aleatli. After coming 
to Rock Ishind, Mr. Larkin's parents made 
that city their liome until their death, the 
father passing away in 1893 at the advanced 
age of seventy-five, and the motlier six 
months later at the age of seventy-four. 
Mr. T.arkin, senior, was a blacksmith', and 
during his lifetime he was of great assistance 
to his son in the contract work, in which he 
was actively engaged. 

(jharles J. Larkin attended and graduated 
from the public schools of Rock Island, and 
after laying aside his school books he learned 
the stone cutter's trade, beginning his work 
as an independent contractor when only 
twenty years of age. It would be imiiossible 
in this brief sketch to enumerate the many 
large and im]iosing structures that have been 
erected by Jlr. Larkin. It was he who built 
Rock Island County's handsome Court House, 
and also the magnificent home of the Modern 
Woodmen of America in Rock Island. The 
eighty thousand dollar jiost office at Daven- 
port is another public building that he was 
called upon to erect, while as a builder of 
magnificent churches Mr. Larkin can point 
with pride to the Catholic Cathedral at Des- 
Moines, Iowa, for it was he who erected that 
great house of worship. 

On October 20, 1873, Mr. Larkin married 
Miss Annie T. Ford, a daughter of William 
and Ann (Rroderick) Ford, of Shefiield, 
Illinois. Eight children, four (laughters and 
four sons, have been Ixn'ii to them, they Ijeing 
the Misses May. Katherine, Annie and Hattie. 
and Leii. Harry, Charles ,1. aiul VVillard, all 
<if the childi'cn making their home with their 
parents. Mr. I.ai'kin's elder sons are engaged 
with him in his contracting operations. His 
daughters are cultivated and talented young 
ladies who have received many advantages, 
both in the schools of Rock Island and else- 
where. Miss Katherine Larkin is a reader 



and impersonator of great ability and power, 
and frequently is heard before Tri-City 
audiences. 

In politics Mr. Larkin has always been a 
Republican, and he has rej^resented his home 
Wiird as Alderman for several terms during 
past years. He is always ready to con- 
trilmte willingly and lilierally either of his 
time or his money to his party's cause, and 
although not an office seeker himself, he 
gives his su))|H)rt to those in his party whcuu 
he considers best qualified to fill the ollices 
to which they as]iire. 

His home is at Xo. .5.i() Elm Street, and 
here .Mr. Larkin spends m;ist of his leisure 
hours, as lie is a man of domestic tastes, and 
finds much of his hapjiiness in this life in the 
companionship of his family. He is a man 
of pleasing personality, kind-hearted, genial 
and always to be found in the forefront of 
any movement calculate. I tn advance the 
A\elfare of his city. In religious conviction 
Wr. Larkin is a Catholic. He has many 
friends throughout Rock Island who speak 
highly of his high integrity and sterling worth. 

^ m m 
HENRY B. HUBBARD. 

THERE is no happier hour in the life of 
the conscientious and circumspect biog- 
rapher than one which affords him the 
occasion for ]iictin'ing in wonls the record of 
a virile, useful, energetic and honorable 
])erson. There is always a fascinating some- 
thing about such a ]ierson, whether old or 
young, which forcibly appeals to the pen, and 
brings forth latent thought and effort which 
are too often permitte 1 t > lie dormant- 
lethargic, as it were. 

The mere conviction of a man's astuteness 
ami sterling worth is all siitiicient to inspire 
one wit'.i a desire to write endless ]iages of 
eul igies concerning him; but alas! the write' 
never did nor never will li\'e who can fittingly 
portray the virtues, services and pit;! )tis;n 
of an upright, thrifty and sidistantial citizen. 



IIIISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY i;« 

Anil so, in our simple wav, with tiic ail- years later he was chosen his own siiceessor. 

vance knowledge that o\ir languase is wholly 'in'\ was elected a^ain in lOOfi. ami the people 

inadequate to snitahlv elucidate the many ''^'^'^^ '""en S'^'C" m" reason upon which to 

redeenun- traits of ,nn- friend, luit wilh the '''"^f ;' complaint against his ollicial staiid- 

>• i- ii , a- i 11 I ardship since the hour he assumed tlie duties 

i-ealization that our efforts will he :ippre- '. 

. ^ , . ^, r 1 ■ ■ -i ■ 11 which tell to his lot. 

cinted m the same telecitous spuat m winch ,, ,r i ■ i i i t i 

.Mr, Huliliai'd has liccu a liai'd worker all 

it IS imparteil, we summon the teiiieritv to , . ... , ,, , , , ,i , 

his lite, ami conseipieiit l\' has learned that 

pl.-ice liefoi'e the reader Mr. Henr\' K. lliili- , , . ,, , , , ■,., , ,, 

' ■ labor IS the ont\' tiaie iiol)ilit\', wlief.her ones 

l.anl. asdie is, and has always been. ,,|-f,,,t,, ^^ ,.„nfined to maiiiiaror ollicial lahor, 

Mr. Hiihliard is a product of the lliickeye ,„. f,, f|^p control of vast industries. A child 

State. He was horn at New .Mataiiioras, nf mir free institutions, he is naturally of a 

Ohio, Septeiiiher 80, 1863. lieini; a son of W. compaiiionalile and pleasin.ii disposition — a 

.\. and .\nna Hubliard. His fatliei- was a liapp\- facu ty, and a pi'iceless asset to any 

nati\e of Ohio, his mother, who hcforc lici' man. He is one who sees things clearly, and 

marriage was .Miss .A.nna (loldsmif li, was also acts with a celerit\- that is amazing when the 

ail Ohioan l)\' birth. (piestion of equity is at stake. He has a 

111 1 StJS, when Ml'. Hiilibard was fi\-e years comprehensive mind, a droll sense of humor 

of age, his parents migrated westward, tliat is pleasing to hear, and is with all a man 

arriving in Edgington Township, near Taylm' of rank and lile. a sincere believer in the 

Hidge. Henry B. Hubbard is an exemplary doctrines expressed by .Vbrahain Lincoln, 

s|)ecimen of what an enterjirising and pr;ic- is a patriot of the tirst \\:iter, and rejiresents 

tical man may accomplish. Uji-to-date, well a true type of .Vmerican manhood and 

cdiirated, of unusual business acumen ami sfiirdiness. 

logical on all matters pertaining to his ollice In the councils of his parly, and in the 
.and the peo])le who have twice elected him, minds of his adherents, Mr. Hubbard corn- 
he iloes not hesitate to again go before his mands a position equal to tliat of any one. 
constituents and request ap]iroval of his acts In the eye of the public, his re-election be- 
,aml methoils, and neither is he timorous in s|)eaks the trust inqxised in him. 
his solicit;il ion of public sanction for his con- Since his incumbence the ollice of the 
duct of their affairs. County (.'lerk has under,goue many changes 

He was married in the year of IS.SS, his which are of material benefit to taxpayers 
wife being Miss Etta (iemmill, of Shannon, and the public generally. Old systems ha.ve 
Illinois. They have been blessed with three been simplified, red tape has become a non- 
children, Clifford, Lois and .Marian. entity, and ]iractic;d methods of business in 

Mr. Hubbard is an active and earnest the interest of speed and convenience have 

worker ill the Mystic Shriners, Kaaba Temple superceded ancient and out-of-date routine. 

of 1 )a\ciiport, and he is a member of long i^ ^e $s 

staiiilinn ill the Modern Woodmen of .\merica. ,,____^_, _ ,>.^,^->^-^I 

He also ,s numbered among the Fraternal HERBERT B. HAYDEN. 

Triliunes and numerous other societies which I lElil!l"]l{T P>. H.\\'l)h>X, Superintciideut 

are well and popularly known. He first [ 1 of City Schools of Ro<d\ Island, is a 

attracted general public notice in the year native of Massachusetts. He was edu- 

of 1N9S, when he was elected County Clerk cated in the graded and high schools of his 

of Roi-k Island County by a pliiarality of nalive state, and at Wesleyan I'nix'ersity. 

about 1 ,SOI) \-otes over his oppoiiimt . l-'oiir Since I SS:> he has been engaiic I in public 



136 



HISTORIC BOCK I .S L A N D COUNTY 



school work, either as high school principal 
or superintendent of city schools, and has 
been in charge of the schools of Rock Island 
since August, 1900. 



A 



CHARLES J, SEARLE. 

X ATTORXFA' whose marked al)ility 
has licen re])eatedly recognized not only 
in Rock Island County. l>y whose Rar 
Association he has, at the time this sketch is 
written, recently' been honored by the elec- 
tion as its president, but throughout the 
State of Illinois, is Charles J. Searle, of Rock 
Island. A biograjihical sketch of a man so 
well and widely known, seems almost su])er- 
fluous. for there are but few in Rock Island 
County, and indeed in this section of Illinois, 
who do iu>t enjoy a personal acc|uaintance 
with the gentleman himself. And were these 
sketches written and published merely for 
the perusal of the present generation many of 
them would be indeed unnecessary, but the 
compilation of a work of this kind is under- 
taken with the thought that it will be an 
enduring memorial to those th records of 
whose lives are herein inscribed, and while 
to the living it may recount no fact that was 
l)efore to them unknown yet to poster ty it 
will possess an ever increasing value as the 
conscientious gleaning of facts in the lives 
of men who have long since been gathered 
unto their fathers. 

Charles J. Searle was born at f'ort Smith, 
Arkansas, May Ifi, lS(i."). his parents being 
Colonel Elhanan .1. (recently deceased) and 
Cassie R. (Pierce) Searle. Six children were 
born to this cou])le. but only two are li^•ing. 
Charles J. and Jilanche Searle, l)oth of Rock 
Island. .Mr. Searl 's parents nuide tlicir home 
in i''ort Smith for about three years after his 
l)irth, and tlum remoxed to Arkadelphia in 
the same state, and fi'om I here to Little Rock. 
Our sui)ject attended the pul)H<- schools and 
later, when his parents came north, he 
atteiulcd the high school at l';in:i, in this 



state. Mnishing his high school course, Mr 
Searle went to Marshall County, Kansas, and 
here he imjjroved a farm, later teaching school 
for a term. He attended the Camjjbell 
Normal University at Holton, Kansas, for 
one year, showing such diligence and appli- 
cation as a student that he carried off the 
class honors. The young man was oliliged 
to depend upon his own resources, and in 
order to accpiire an education it was necessary 
that he should earn the money with which to 
pay for his tuiti(m and defray his expenses 
while attending school. At the end of his 
year at the Normal I'niversity, he foimd it 
necessary to again assume the role of peda- 
gogue in order to accumulate enough funds 
to continue his education, so he again taught 
another term of school, this time in Rrown 
County. Kansas. Then, having decide 1 to 
study law, Mr. Searle entered the State 
University of Iowa, at Iowa City, and here for 
two years he ])ursued a law course. In this 
school also he showed marked ability and 
took the highest honors of his class, both 
durin.g his junior and senior years. After 
graduating. Mr. Searle cast about for a loca- 
tion in which to |)ractice his newly acquired 
])rofession. The result of this quest was that 
he finally decided u]ion Rock Island, and in 
that city he opened an office August 12, 1889. 
He soon learned by experience that the 
acquiring of a clientele was not a speedy 
process, and in common with nearly all young 
lawyers he, in the course of that evolution 
which every attorney must undergo, success- 
fidly ]iassed through the "starvation stage." 
While wa ting for clients, lie devoted his time 
assiduous'y to study and reading along pro- 
fessional 'ines, this suijplementing the legal 
training he had received while at Iowa City. 
Hut h's ability was so marked, es])ccially as 
an advocate, that it made such an ini])ression, 
not only upon tlie general public, but u])on 
his fellow members of the bai- as well, that l;e 
si)eedily got into jiractice, and in 1S!)2 was 
elected States Attornev o' Hoid< Island 




C J. «EARLE 



If I STO RI C R (J C K I S L . 1 -V D C U N T Y 137 

Coimtv, iipdii the RcpuMii'aii tifket. He was Island ("uunty, l)y Rock Island (\iuniy as its 

a vigorous and successfid prosecutor, and at candidate for Congress. He has labored 

the exi)iration of his four years term he was diligent y and efficiently for the success of his 

re-elected and serxed another term in that part\' at the polls; and as a powerful speaker 

office. Diiring his administration he secured upon polilical and economi<' suhjecfs he is 

a large nund)er of convictions, and in the constantly in deniaml. He is in thorough 

fulfillment of that office gave general satis- sympathy with the s|iirit of determination for 

faction to the peo])le. In 189.S he was corjjorate regulation that is s\\pei)ing over 

appointed li\- (lo\-ernor Tanner as trustee of the country, and indeed has lieen a pioneer 

the \\'estern Illinois State Normal School. in that cause and for years ]iast has, lioth in 

which was then about to be located and |)olitical speeches and in pi-i\ate convei'sation, 

built, the boai'd of trustees having the selec- portrayed the dangers that threatened the 

tion of the site, it was decided to locate the welfare and prospei'it\' of the American 

new institution at Macomb. Mr. Searle was citizen through the unrestrained formation 

chosen as president of the board and devoted of vast mono]K)lies. His Re|iublica,nism is of 

much time to tlie duties invoh'ecl in the super- th.e t>'pe of that of Roose\elt, I.al''ollette and 

\ision of the erection of an institution of such ("ummins, and is opposed to that of .Vldiich 

magnitude: after the institution was com- ami KIk ns. 

p!eled and full\- and successfully start(>(l, he A \igorous and viiile man, an astute and 
I'esignetl. In l!)()4 he was appointeil by discerning attoriu'y and a gifte(l orator, Mr. 
Richard Yates, junicu', then Clovernor of Searle embodies in his personality those 
Illinois, as ;i mendier of the Court of Claims, (pudil es ihat c(unuiaiid the respect, the 
this oHice carrying with it the rank and title ajjproval and tfie regard of lium.anit\-. He 
of Judge. It is the duty of this Court. c(ui- is a, num imusual'y independent in thought 
sisting of three Judges and sitting at Spi'ing- aiul speech, without the slightest vestige of 
fie'd, to conside ■ and adjudicate all disputed self-conceit, easy of approach and of broad 
(daims arising against the State of Illinois, syniijathy ; truly a, " nuui of tlie jieople." 
and its numy institutions. This office Mr. In I S'.)'.) Mr. Searle entereil into pai'l nership 
Searle still hold.s. Both the latter offices with C. B. Marshall, forming the legal iirm of 
were conferred on Mr, Searle entirely without Searle iV: Marshall. The parfnesrhip was an 
solicitation on his part. ad\-antageous one f(U- both gentlemen, bring- 
On April 7. 1S9S, Mr, Searle married Miss ing into conjunction the brilliant jiowers as 
Mary Pryce, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. an advocate |iossessed by Mr. Searle and tlie 
John J. Rryce. of Coal N'alley, this County. more trampiil and studious natui'e ot Mr. 
Miss Pryce at the time of her marriage living Marshall. The Hrm has prospered and is 
in Racine, Wisconsin, where she was engaged today one of the eading law firms in Rock 
as a teacher in the |iublic schools ol that Islanil County. 

city. To them lunc been born tlu'ee children. Hut little remains to be said in conchision. 

two boys and a girl. The life, the character, and the political 

Political y Mr. Seaiie h,is always been a. prim- pies of Charles J. Searle have been 

Republican and has been, and is, a political laithfu y ilelin(>aled. The leader can udge 

power, not merely in Rock Island Coimty, for h'niself what mainu'i- of uum he is. He 

but his prestige has been getierally recognized has oblained and rctaineil the cunfiilence of 

thr(uigliout Illinois, and especially tliis ]>art his fellow men. and not merely their confi- 

of tl e State. He has twice been |iresented dence but thr'ii- waiuu regard as well: a man 

t ;) the Congressional District embraciu!^ l{o(dc whose tluuights, whose acts and whose 



138 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



liriiK'iples expressed in s]ieecli and deed are 
liis best and truest liiography 

m n ^ 
GUY V, PETTIT. 

IN none of the walks of life, perhaps, does 
the personality of the man impress itself 

so thoroughly U]X)n the ]>ulilic with which 
he deals as in the case of the editor of a 
countr^^ newspaper. While he does not reach 
the thousands that the editor of a metroptil- 
itan daily does, he offsets this ilisadvantage 
through the close personal relations he sus- 
tains witli his ])atrons and thereby his posi- 
tion in the community is rendered the more 
diffic\dt of the two to maintain. While the 
head of the news gatliering department of a 
big pajaer may strike right and left with but 
small chance of offending any considerable 
]>ortion of his clientele, the scrilie of the 
country weekly must exercise care and tact, 
for his financial success requires the support 
of at least half of the ]ieople of his territory. 
Therefore the trenchant pen is not his to 
wield. He must attain his ends byothermeans. 

A successful country editor is (!ny V. Pettit 
of the Reynolds Press — a man who has the 
rare gift of being able to give expression to 
his own ideas of right and wrong and still 
retain the jiersonal friendshiji of practically 
every individual who reads his newspaper. 

Mr. Pettit was born .hdy 17. 1868, seven 
mile.s south of Geneseo. on a farm in Henry 
County, Illinois. He is a son of Charles E. 
and Ellen .M. Pettit, and dates his ancestry 
on American soil well Ijack into the seven- 
teenth century. His paternal grandparents 
were Pennsylvanians and his maternal grand- 
parents New Yorkers. His father was a 
private in Company E, iMghth Illinois \'olun- 
tcer Infantry, and was ])rivate secretary to 
(ienoral V. S. (Irant at Cairo in 1862. Hi.s 
mother was educated at Lombard University, 
Ciak'sburg. 

Mr. Pettit attended ccnmtry schodj till 
(ifteon years of age, wiien he ijecame a student 



at Northwestern Normal at Geneseo. After 
pursuing a scientific and literary course there 
for three years he turned his attention to 
]iedagogv. He began teaching school at the 
age of seventeen, and so well did he do his 
work that when he had barely attained his 
majority he was called upon to act as prin- 
ci])al of the schools at Hampton, Rock Island 
County. Here he taught two years, going, 
in August. 1889. to Reynolds, to acce]it the 
principalshi]) of the schools there. At the 
end of three years he accepted a similar posi- 
tion at Brimfleld, Peoria County, where he 
remained two years. 

In .January, 1897, Mr. Pettit purchased the 
Reynolds Press, taking personal charge July 
1 following, and condiu'ting it successfully up 
to the present time. 

Mr. Pettit has found time to take an interest 
ill village affairs, having for three years filled 
the office of village clerk, and subsequently 
served two terms as president of the board 
of trustees, retiring in 1895. Politically he 
has always been a Republican. 

Patriotic and fraternal societies have en- 
gaged much of Mr. PettiCs attention. He is 
a past captain in the Sons of Veterans, ]jast 
chancellor commander of the Knights of 
Pythias, has been consul of the Reyncdds 
Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America 
for eight years, holds membership in the 
Order of the Eastern Star and the lienevolent 
and Protective Order of Elks, and is affiliated 
with the various branches of the .Masonic order. 

Mr. Pettit was united in marriage June 19, 
1890, with Miss Jennie Re])ine, of Galesburg, 
Illinois, formerly of Pennsylvania. They 
have two sons, Royce Edgar, born May .5, 
1895. and CIvde Earl, liorn April 19, 1902. 

§^ sa M 
DR. LOUIS OSTROM. 

DR. LOriS OSTROM, A. U. M. 1)., was 
born in Helsingland, Sweden, May 1, 
1 S74. and came to America when six years 
old. His fatlier is ;i pijje-organ builder, 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY i;W 

kiKiwii aiiKiiiii huiidi-cils of cliurclics all n\vv \\h\\v there, lie received a call from the 

the co\intry. ^'oiinii Ostrom atteiuleil piililic Kansas Melical College at To]ieka. Kansas, 

schools, aiul as snoii as he was able to work, to the Chah- of Cheniistry, am! as ilireetor of 

was at one time oi' anotlier eni])loyed diirint;: the Chciiiiral lali ii'at:iries. a position he held 

vacations in nearly all the shops of Molinc. for one yeai-. Init as this interfereil with 

After hecominii, a stndent of Aui^nstana prixatc pi'actice, he resij^ned and located in 

Collefje. he worked ilurint; the different vaca- Kock Island, Illinois, as a s))ecialist. devotini; 

tions as section hand on the street car line, .all his professional attention to diseases of 

printer in a joli office, and ])ressnian to the the eye, ear, nose and thro;it. In the sprinii 

Moliiie |)aily hisjinlch . etc. While a student, term of f!)l).S lie was actiiii? jirofessor of 

he also studied music under Dr. (iuslav l-Jotany at .\u.siustana, (^ollese, dui'ini; the 

Stolpe: was director of the liand, oicliestra, aWsence of Profess;)r .1. A. (ulden. and latt'r 

and mandolin (dul)s, cornetist, and latei' was prolessor in an.alDUly, pli\siolofiV. his- 

claeionetist with the Si.xth Regiment I'>aiid. I il I'jv and the pre-medical depai'tment. 

Illinois National (iuard. of Moline. and While doing p ist graduate work at New 

Strasser's Second Hcgimeiit Hand of ])a\en- ^'ol■k, was pi'ofess:ir of Natural Histoi'y at 

port, Iowa. He also to(d< ai-ti\'e part in all I psala ("ollege, Kenilworth. New Jersey. Dr. 

college atheletics. lieing ,a memlx'i- of lioth ()stroni is adjiun't t:i St. .Anthony's Hosjiital 

base ball and oot ball teams. He graduated and examiner for more than a dozen insur- 

froni Augnstana College in lS9o, in the English ;mce companies. Since his graduation in 

(dassical course, receiving the degree of me licine, he lui.s taken jiost graduate coui'ses 

I-!achelor of .\i-ts. Dui-ing the summer befoi'e with some of the most noted spei'ialists in 

gracbiation he was assistant organist tn Dr. America. 

Stoljie in the Moline liUtheran Church, and in the Spiiiig of I!)(I7, Dr. ()sli-iuu was 

after graduation was at Moore's Praii'ie, electel alderman of the Seventh Ward. 

Minnesota, as organist and music teaidier. In IS!)'.) Dr. (>sti'om was married to Miss 

While there he received a call from .4ugus- Sophia Ifult, formerly secretary to the busi- 

t.'ina ('<illege to become professor of wind ness nuinager of Augustana College. They 

and stringed instruments in the Conservatory h;i\-e one child, Meredith, 
of .Music, but (lecdincd because of intended 

medical study. He studied medicine at the 581 !S !g 
State University of Iowa, at Iowa Cit}-, whei-e 
lie earned his way through by phaying with 

orchestras and in churches, caiiiig foi- a R A '''"'^- .M.^HA' F.\V H.\W1']S, wife of 



MRS. MARY FAY HAWES. 



doctor's office tor his room rent, and earning iVl •^'■',ioi' Charles W. Hawes, and aniember 

his board by serving as waiter at a restaurant of the boa'.'d of supreinc managers of 

until the end of his course. .After leaving the Hoy.al Neighljors of .\nier ca, is an 

Iowa City, he was employed b\- the State admirable type of the purjioseful woman of 

Hospital at Independence. Iowa, but wishing the ilay. She ])roves in her own jierson that 

to continue his medical studies, he resigneil tli(> ."Vmei'lcan woman may exert a powerful 

and went to St. Louis to the .Missouri .Medical influence in t'le enlargenient of woman's 

College and I'oliclinic. During his medical sphere wiihout loss to any of the attributes 

studies he paid inosl pai'ticular attention to of li'ue womanhood. 

the eye and car, but after his course at St. .Mi's. Hawes was b.irn in l''ultoii. Illinois. 

Louis, located in 1S99 ;it Leonardville, .luiy 22. LSIifi, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 

Kansas, ami engaged in general pi'actice. .1. M. I''ay. and the eldest of a :'amily of nin,. 



140 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



children, all living at this date. She grad- 
uated from high school in May, 1883. and 
spent the following two years in the Northern 
Illinois College at Fidton. 

In 1887 Mrs. Hawes, then Miss Fay. en- 
gaged in a clerical capacity with the ^lodern 
Woodmen of America, the head offices of 
which were at that time located at Fidton. 
She continued with the Society for several 
years, a valued attache of the head office, and 
thus met Major Hawes, who was elected 
head clerk of the Society in 1890. Her 
marriage to Major Hawes on December 25, 

1894, marked her retirement from the Wood- 
men Society's employ; but shortly thereafter, 
having been active'y identified with the 
Royal Neighbors of America, the lailies 
auxiliary of the Modern Woodmen o America, 
she was chosen as one of its board of supreme 
managers. She has been re-elected at each 
succeed'ng national convention since January, 

1895, and her present term expires in May, 
1908. 

Mrs. Hawes, in American fraternal circles, 
is widely known; indeed, is one of that circle 
of al)le women who have pioneered the 
wonuui's fraternal movement to its present 
commanding place. She is a pleasing speaker, 
a thorough student of the system she 
serves officially, and of its ife insurance 
featvu'es, and is in great demand as a 
lecturer. 

Mrs. Hawes is an earnest member of the 
Broadway Presbyterian (.'liui'cii of Rock 
Islaiul, and \-ery active in its Sunday School 
work. Her ideal home ife with husband 
and son, John Marcus Hawes, her work in 
the church and as an oflicial of the Royal 
Neighijors of -America, the leading fraternal 
beneficiary association lor women, demon- 
strates her character an<l capacity, and as 
well the fact that, while womanly and true 
to the mission of the sex, I he ,\merican 
W(unan may. with JKinoi', engage in activities 
outside the home circle, but in.-ikiiig U>r the 
protection of the home. 



WILLIAM H. BEAN. 

R.M'IDLY tlu> ranks of tho.se who took 
active part in the Civil War are thinning. 
One after another the gray haired veter- 
ans are going to join their comrades in a land 
where bloodshed and siiffering are unknown. 
Few of the defenders of the flag in the sixties 
are now left who are able to hold their ow^n 
in the keen struggle of present day commercial 
life. Physical infirmities, have with few 
exceptions long since compelled the great 
majority of the sm-vivors to drop out of the 
race. Yet here and there are exceptions. 
Now and then a sturdy old warrior is found 
whose eye is as bright and whose step s as 
firm as that of the yoimger generation and 
who yet finds keen enjoyment in a struggle 
in which he is pitted against the sons and the 
grandsons of his comrades of other days. 

Such a man is William H. Bean, the pioneer 
merchant of Rock Island. Though whitened 
by sixty-five winters he continues in active 
charge of the grocery store he established 
thirty-two years ago. He has not fallen be- 
hind in the rapid inarch of American progress. 

Mr. Bean was i)orn at St. Louis, Missouri, 
February 10, 1842, the .son of J. L. and 
Marilla (Smith) Bean. His father was a 
native of Palmyra, New York, being born 
January 8, 1814, and died March 28, 1890, 
in Rock Island. His mother was born in 
Parkman. Ohio, May 24. 1818, and died May 
1, 1898, in Rock Island. The parents were 
married September 24, 1838, at Parkman, 
Ohio, and came to Rock Island for permanent 
residence when their son was two months of 
age. Mr. Bean, the elder, was a contractor 
and builder and followed this vocation for a 
niuuber of years. Then he engagetl in the 
luanufacture of wagons. He was a meml>er 
of the City Council in tlie early tlays. When 
Ben Harper was nuiynr, and served the City 
of Rock Island in scleral capacities. He was 
the father (wliih' in the council) of the first 
street opened in the City — Ninth Street, 




J. L. BEAN. 



// / S T RIC RO C K I S L A N D CO U N T Y 



141 



riuiuing: imrtli and scuitli. In I lie oarl\- sixties 
he hauled freigiit by uxteanis to Pila-'s Peak. 
From 1S7() till his death lie lived a retii-ed 
life. Three childicii, (illiei- iliaii llie snhject 
1)^ this sketeh. were horn to the couple: Louis 
H. M. Bean, horn October 1(1, !S;?<), and died 
January I"), ISC.l. at Hlacd< Hawk Mill- I'ike's 
Peak, Colorado; ,]olin Liberty Hean. junior, 
born October L'l. IS-l.'!, and now livin.t!: at 
LaPlata, .Missouri, and Marilla .lane P)ean. 
born January L'(), 1S46, and now the wile of 
W, L. Minchen. living at Seattle, Washin.i;'ton. 

Our subject attended the public schools 
and the Rock Islaiul high school. He left 
the latter to become salesman in a general 
store in Lsiid. Then came the c;dl to arms, 
and August S. IStJ'J, lie enlisted in Company 
I, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth IIHnois 
Infantry, and serveil till Jul}- I'i, lN()."i, when 
he was mustered <uit and returned to Rock 
Islantl. He then I'e^umed his place in the 
store and remained there two years. Later 
he spent three years on a farm, and in 1875 
he ojiened the grocery store he now owns at 
r_'()l Third .\venue. 

November 25, ISSO, Mr, Hean was united 
in marr'age with Mrs Sarah A, Cameron, a 
native of Scotland, but for si.xteen years prior 
to her union with Mr. Bean a resident of Rock 
Island. Their weilded life has been childless. 

Mr. Bean has always been a Re))ublican, 
but has not actively engaged in politics. He 
has not been a seeker after the spectacu ar 
but lias kept the even tenor of his way He 
has lieen content with the ordinary rewarils 
of a ([uiet and well ordered life and thus it is 
that we lind liiiii today one of the few of his 
generation who are still alile to continue the 
routine of daily business. 
!g K « 

FRANK B. HAWES. 

FRANK B. HAWKS, son .if David Hawes 
and brother of .Major Charles W. Haues, 
was born in the City <if Pock Ishind on 
Novend)er 14, 1844. (See liiogi-aphies David 



Hawes and Majoi- Charles W. Hawes). Since 
April 1.'^, L8i)l, the subject of this sketch has 
been prominently connected with the head 
ollices of the Modern Woodmen of .■\nierica. 
Lor years he was the society's statistician, 
but of late years he has discharge. I the 
responsible (hities of cliief of the final acr. Hint- 
ing department. He has supervision over the 
most imjiortant set of accounts maintained 
by the Modern Wooilmen Society -the linaii- 
eial. It is naturally to be inferred that .Mr. 
Hawes possesses superior ability as an 
accoiinlant and mathematician. 

Pi'ior to the establishment of his connection 
with the Modern Woodmen Society, .Mr. 
Hawes was for twenty-one years the cashier 
of the Iv P. Peynolds it Company railroad 
contracting lirm. During the jieriod 1860- 
LSDII, inclusive, this Hrm built thousands of 
miles of western railroad, and Mr. Hawes as 
cashier, liandled millions of dollars without 
the loss of a single cent. 

In 1S75 Mr. Hawes was miited hi wedlock 
to M'.ss l']|ixabeth A Rector, of Walworth, 
Wsconsin. One son, Da\id R. a graduate 
of the Illinois School of Dentistry, University 
of Illinois, is the fruit of this union. Mr. 
Hawes is recognized as one of Ro(d< Island's 
most progressive citizens. He is active in 
his sup]iort of all ])olicies and measures mak- 
ing for the bet erment of Rock Island and the 
country at large. In national politics, he 
has always been an ardent and influential 
supportei' o' Republican ]irmcipes. With 
his family, lie resides in a welLappiun: ed 
home at 718 Seventeenth Street. 

m ^ ^ 
CHARLES T1TTER.INGT0N 

FOR si>ty-se\'en years Charles Til teringtoii 
lix'ed on the farm in Ivlgington Township 
tlial he entered from the fio\-ernnient. 
His children grew to manhooil and wciman- 
hood, married, grandchihh'en i-aiiie and at- 
tained nuiturity, and still this doughty- 
pioneer was tilling the soil of llie old home 



142 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



place made dear to him by decades of asso- 
ciation. He came to Rock Island ('o>inty in 
1835, and at once selected and jjurchased 
from the Government the fertile acres that 
were his abiding place for so long a ])eriod. 

Charles Titlerington was born in the ]iarish 
of Worley, West Yorkshiie. England. January 
22, 1S14. His father, Thomas Titterington, 
came to America three months after the 
birth of Charles, and he died February 26, 
18.57. The mother died in England a .short 
time afte- his birth. At the time of his 
death, ,luly 1.3, 1902, the subject of this 
sketch was the last slu•^•ivor of a family of 
six sons, the others being: John, born Sep- 
tember 4, 1795, and died in 1855; Thomas, 
born July 22, 1S06, and died September 7, 
182.3; James, born November 2, 1S07, and died 
June 5, 1876; Moses, born September 28, 1810, 
and <lied February 24, 1890, and Eli, born 
April 20, 1812, and died September 20, 1825. 

When Charles was scarcely beyond the age 
of infancy the family removed to Ross Count\', 
Ohio. There he attended the jiuljlic schools 
and from there, on attaining his majority, he 
came to Rock Island County, and settled on 
the farm in Edgington Township. December 
20, 18.38, he married Sophia Elierhart. daugh- 
ter of Charles Eberhart, the wife passing away 
Septendjer 11, 1898. Of the eight chikh-en 
born to the couple all save the youngest sur- 
vive, the family l)eing as follows. Thomas, 
born October 29, 1839; Charles, born August 
2. 1,S41; Anna Eliza (Henjamine), born July 
14, 1,S43; Maria Elzabeth (Lloyd), born 
March 26, 1,S46; Milton, born March 24, 1,S4S; 
Frederick, born September 1, 1852; David, 
born June 7, 1855, and Emma Louisa (Kret- 
singer), born August 23, 1860. 

Mr. Titterington was an active Methodist, 
being long connected with the Zion Church 
of Edgington, built in 1854, and demolished 
in 1906. He was a .staunch Rejiublican from 
the lime of organization of that party. He 
held various townshij) oliices, including that 
of supervisor from Edgington. 



FRED TITTERINGTON. 

FEW men are sufficiently versatile to suc- 
cessfully pursue two se]iarate and entirely 
different vocations during their lives. 
Rare, indeed, is the farmer that becomes a 
dividend earning manufacturer, especially 
after he has attained middle age, and become 
a man of substance through his own efforts 
in tilling the soil. Such, however, has been 
the achievement of Fred Titterington, form- 
erly a farmer in the vicinity of Edgington 
postotfice and now secretary and general 
manager of the Argillo works at Carbon 
Cliff. 

ilr. Titterington is another native of Rock 
Island County, having been born at Edgington 
September 1, 1852. He was the son of 
Charles and Sophia Titterington, pioneers of 
the comnumity. His early education was 
that of the average farmer boy, save that he 
had the additional advantage of a course at 
Knox Academy at (lalesburg, Illinois. Until 
he was nineteen years of age he worked on 
his father's farm and then he set out for him- 
self, and for a number of years tilled tlie soil 
on the jiresent site of the village of Reynokls. 
Later he farmed in Buffalo Prairie Township 
and eventually purchased a tract of land in 
Ivlgington To\vnshi]i. \\hich was his home 
till 1899. 

Always a more or less active Repidjlican, 
he was rewarded by his party by election to 
the offices of treasvu-er of Rock Island County 
in 1894, serving one term of fotu- years, during 
which time the present Court House was 
erectetl. Upon retiring from this service of 
the county he disposed of his farm interests 
and became connected with the Argillo 
Works, manufacturing clay products, and was 
chosen secretary and manager. Lender his 
direction the company has jirospered, the 
])lant has been expanded and the business 
put on a liasis that insures continued success. 

Mr. Titterington, in addition to having 
served as county treasurer, has held various 




(). FlilODI^liU'K WDKHSOX. 



// / N T R I (' ROC K I S L A N D C U N T Y 14:5 

township offices as well as that of su]ier\'isiir here he eontinned to work as a jniirneyniaii 

from Buffalo I'l'airie. He became a meniliei- in the em])loy fjf dthers iiiilil iS'.Ki, wlieii liy 

of the IsdKiii.nldU Presbyterian Cluii-cli at llic his industry and frugalih- he had accuiiiu- 

ase <if fifteen, and upon i'emo\-infi Id H(icl< lated sufficient money io start as an iiide- 

Island in iSi)'.), to take u]) manufaci urinii, |>endent contractor iu a siuali way. In this 

united with the Jiroadway I'resliyteiian he was successful, the urciwtli of his business 

Church. He ser\-eil as an ehler iu botli being steady and cinilinuoiis until it lias 

chiu'ches, Mr. Titferin.eton is a membei' nf reached its ]ire.sent prnpoi'l ions. 

the Miicleru W'oudmen of America and tlie Although a general couti-actdi-. Mr. Taii])en- 

Knights of the (lliibe. durf has specialized along the line of church 

Scptemlier 1. 1S74. the sul)ject of iliis building, and has been called U|ion td erect 

sketch was married, his l)ri<le being llai'i-iet sume nf the largest cliui'ch edifices in the 

EdgingtiiH, daughter of ,lohn ;nid Sns.'iii c(iiuitry. He unw docs a business averagin.g 

Edgington, "f Huffalo Prairie. She p;issed almut .SKHl.tHH) a year, a splendid record for 

away Septeniber 1. bS.sT, leaving thi-ee chil- a man who started in life with the sole assets 

drcn : Susan K., Minnie (i., and Forest H. of a tletermined spii-it aud a willingness to 

.Mr. Titterington later married Rose Powers, work, showing, as it iloes, that these are the 

datighter of /. D. aud Elizabeth Powers, :i reall\- essential elements in a suceessfid 

native of Edgington, Two children, P.cryl career. 

and Adria, were the issue of the second imioii. Mr. Ta|ii)endorf was married November S, 

jg 5g S^ bs!)'_', t<i Miss Freda Smith, the daughter of 

H. w. c. TAPPENDORF. ;;'''■.""' '^.'"- ""^ ^\ """!';• "t7»-;;"i;"'-<- 

llieu- marrnige has been blessed with tour 

IN other articles appearing in this woi'k children, Harry W., Mathew, Walter and 

freciueni mention has been made of tlio Helen, all of whom are at home, 

astmmding growth Rock Island has \uidei-- In politics .Mi-. Tappendorf was formerly a 

gcuie during the past few years, and of the Democrat, Now , liowe\er, he ow n.s no party 

many new buildings, especially residences, allegiance, but gi\es his support and his \-ote 

that lia\e lieen erected during that time. fo whichever candidate oi- wliicluncr measure 

.\ll, or nearly all, of the contracts that lia\'e he believes to be best. He is a member of 

l)een let for these lia\e been placed with the Rock Island bodge. No. bs. Indepemleiit 

city's homo <'ontracfors, one of the most ( )rder of ( )dd l''ello\\s. 

prominent of whom is H, W, (', Tappendorf. Iu this brief liiomaphical sketch are told 

He was boi'u .Inly 4, bSti'J, at Proxcnce, the essential f.acts in the I'areer of II. \\ . (.'. 

Holstein. (ieriiiaiiy. the home of his pai'ents, Tappendorf, the sloi\- of a life which wd\"en 

John T. anil Ilaiinali Tappendorf. He at- into the warp and wciof of our cil izenslii|) 

tended the public schools of his native town makes its texture lii'iner. si router and 

during his boyhood, and upon the complet ion briiihter. 

of his school days he took up and mastered jg jg 5fe 

the carpenter's tra.le m that thorough and ANHFR^nN 

systematic manner for which Ceruiaus are ^- rKtUtKICK ANUtH^jUIN. 

renowned. /■"N.Xf; of Mojiue's progres.si\e .and popul.ar 

In ISSC) he came to America and located iu l^y citizens, who. Ii\' his own unaided 

Davenport, Iowa, wliere for two years he efforts and iiiili\idiial worth, has gone 

orked at his traile as a joiiriie\'iii.an car- forward step by step until he now holds the 

peiiter. In IS.SS he came to Rock Island, aud position of I'asliier iu one of that City's 



144 



HISTORIC RO C K ISLAND C U N T Y 



leacliiig banks, is O. Frederick Anderson, a man 
who merits the respect and rejiard nf all who 
know him. 

He was bt)rn in Trehorna, Swcilon, July 1, 
1866, the home of his parents, Alfred Ander- 
son and Ama Greta (Johansdotter) Anderson, 
the former of whom died January 25, 1881, 
and the latter is still living. October 27, 
1868, Mr. Anderson, with his parents, came 
to America, and coming West, located in 
Moline. Here their son attended the public 
schools, and after completing the grammar 
department left the Moline schools tf) attend 
the Davenport Business College, from which 
he graduated. He began his business career 
at the early age of seventeen, when he 
accepted a position as collection clerk in the 
Moline National Bank, Conscientious and 
faithful in his duties, his rise was rapid, until 
today he is cashier of the Moline Trust and 
Savings Bank, being elected to that position 
in July, 1900, having formerly filled the 
position as teller of that bank. 

On December 16, 1891, he married iliss 
Sena Nielsen, a ^Moline young lady. Her 
father, Peter Nielsen, was a native of Den- 
mark, and lier mothei- Nellie Nielsen, of 
Sweden. lioth Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen are 
living, and make their home in Moline. To 
Mr. Anderson and his wife one son, Frederick 
Nielsen Anderson, was l)orn December 4, 1903. 

In ]3olitics Mr, Anderson is a staunch 
Republican, and three times he has been 
honored by his party by being elected City 
Treasurer of Moline, Each time he I'eceived 
large majorities, and the strength of the vote 
he polled is a striking indication of the con- 
fidence his fellow citizens reposed in him. 
He has been a member of the board of direc- 
tors of the Moline Public I,ii)rary continu- 
ously since June 22, 1890, .and in 1904 wa.s 
elected president of that body, a position 
that he now holds. 

Mr. Anderson has always taken a deep 
interest in civic matters. He is a member 
of the Moline Club, of which he has been a 



director and vice-president. He is a promi- 
nent Mason, and has been master of Doric 
Lodge, No, 319, of Moline. He is also a 
memlier of the Odd Fellows and Red Men. 
He was one of the founders of the Rock 
Island County Historical Society, and has 
been its treasurer since its inception. He is 
a public spirited citizen that his city can be 
proutl of. 

m ^ ^ 

MISS MYRTLE E. DADE, 

B\' her work as beneficiary recorder of the 
Royal Neighbors of America, the woman's 
auxiliary to the Modern Woodmen of 
America, the largest fraternal insurance 
society in the world, Miss Myrtle E. Dade has 
shown herself a woman of rare business and 
e.xecutive ability. A quality no less rare, she 
has demonstrated her ability to efficiently 
supervise a considerable body of women 
without friction and in a manner which has 
accomplished wonderful results. So .syste- 
matically has the work in her offices been 
handled that other similar societies have paid 
her the compliment of adopting many of the 
ilevices which she originated and first put in 
>ise in the beneficiary department of the 
Royal Neighbors, the headquarters of which 
is at Rock Island. 

Miss Dade was f)orn in Fulton. Whiteside 
Comity, Illinois, which was the early home 
of the Woodmen Society, 'She wa.s the 
daughter of Rufus E. Dade and Elizabeth R. 
Dade, and was one of a family of four children. 
Her father was a shoe dealer at Fulton and 
one of the leading citizens of the place. He 
enlisted in the Civil War in the Fifth Michigan 
Vohmteer Infantry, Company F, September 
10, 1.S61, and .served till October 27, 1864, 
He participated with Grant's command in 
some of the hardest battles of the war, being 
wounded at the Wilderness, June 6, 1866, 
he re-enlisted in the Forty-third Veteran 
Reserve Corps and performed duty two 
years as an artificer with the rank of 



// / ,s' T (I R I C K r K I S L A N D C O U N T Y 



I4r, 



iiniiriiiiiiiiissiniu'il dUicci', lii'iiifi' statiiiiif'd at 
I'lirt Mackiiiar. Mi'. 1 )a(lc was nuirried in 1S71 
til I'-lizaI>ctli 1!. W'cliij. lie served as mayor 
(iT I'^ultiiii ai'd licld (idiei- offices of trust. 

Miss Dade was educated in the I-'ultoii 
])nblic schools. ,t;i-a(luatiii^' from the hi^ii 
school in 1S<.)!I. l'i-i(ii- to that she had com- 
pleted a course in sfeiiosraphy at the Northern 
Illinois Collejie. She early toiik up drawini;; 
as a ]iasttime. ami lieins .ii'ifted with a taste 
■for art and unusual natural aliility, siie was 
successful to a marked degree. Her accom])- 
lishments we're further hmadened ilurinti; a 
year spent at a musical academy for twirls at 
Chicago, which she attended while in quest 
of iiealth after she had taken up the work of 
her life with the Modern Woodmen. 

Miss Dade became connected with the 
Woodmen at FultDii in the t^ummer of 1S'.)(), 
lieinp; permanently employed in Novemlier of 
that year by A. F. Morrison, then head clerk. 
She was retainctl l>\' Major C. W. Hawes. wlio 
was elected head ck-i-k al the succeeding iiead 
camp, ^'arious minor positions were held in 
the head office, expei'ience lj(>ing gaiiu'il in all 
lines of the work. Shortly after I'etui'iiing 
fnuii a year's absence, deemed necessary on 
account of temporai-ily impaired health. Miss 
Dade, in April. ISDo, was asked to assist Mrs. 
Mary I'ay Hawes. who was then beneficiary 
recoi'iler of the Pioyal Neighbors of America. 
At the end of twd months the duties of the 
office fell entirely upon hei' shoulders. I, ate 
in the Summer of I'.IO.") she was appointed 
beneficiary recorder, uliich office slie has held 
ever since, being I'eappointed after each 
supreme cam]i by (he beneficiary committee. 

At the heail camp, held at Peoria. Illinois, 
in May, H)(IS. the social .and beneficiai-\' 
departments wei-e c'oiisolid.-ilcd. the head- 
(piarters lieing located at Kock Island. Miss 
I 'ade was elected supreme recorder. 

At the time the .subject of this sketch took 
charge of the department, fraternal insurance, 
especially for women, was just emerging fj-om 
infancv, and crudeness characterized the 



system of comlucling tlie business. It vv- 
mained iov Miss Dade to introiluce order and 
system, and this she did in a manner that 
attracted nuich atlenlion in the fr.alci'nal 
world. One of her triumphs was the intro- 
duction of the cai'cl system of membership 
record. This was doiu' in ISO!), and has 
been the means of sa\ing the society great 
ex]iense. The society now has a beneficiary 
membership of IL'S.OIHI, which is carefully 
taken care of b\- a force nf thirty competent 
young ladies, and the office luis the reputa- 
tion of iloing business pnunptlw Tlie work 
has l)een rendered tlie more diflii-iilt because 
of the fact tliat olfice i-(joni is limited and 
great economy nuist be exercised in the dis- 
position of tlic records, oflice force and 
furnitiu'e. The wliole soul of the fieneficiary 
recorder has, however, been in her work, and 
she has spared neither time noj' pains in hei' 
efforts to attain perfection. 

Miss Dade becanu' a resident of l»o(d< 
Islaiul in l.St)7, when the headquarters of the 
.Modern Woiidmen ;iiid llu' Royal Neighbors 
w:is renio\'ed to that city from I'^ilton. Slie 
united witli tlie I'l-esbxtei'ian Cliurch al 
fulton and became .a niembei' of the Hi'oail- 
w.ay Pi'esbyterian Cliurcli in itock Island. 
^ 'if^ i^il 

VIROIL MARION BLANDING. 

VIH(;iL M.AHION HL.WDIXd was born 
December ,S, ISL'7, at (irenell iMills 
(now AI(Jen\'ille), Wa\'ne Countv. Penn- 
sylvania, and died M.arch 'A. 1!K)7. His 
father, Reba Blanding, was one of the original 
proprietors of Grencll Mills, but spent his 
latei' years on liis f.ai'iu ne.arby. His mother 
was lieulali .Vnn (Jrenell. iJoth liranehes of 
the family were of Huguiiot stock; the known 
line of descent on the fatlier's side running 
from William HIanding, who emigrated to 
America and settleil in Boston in KUI), where 
he soon after liecame "selectman.'' 

His f(nu- great grandfathers, Noah Bland- 
ing, .lohii Martin, Michael (Irenell and fjlijali 



146 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Marshall, were soldiers in the Revoliitinnary 
War, the last named bein"; a member of 
Arnold's expedition against Quebec and one 
of the first inside the enemies works. He 
was wounded, made a prisoner and exchanged, 
and afterwards fought under (leneral Wayne 
at Stony Point, continuing on active duty 
until the close of the war. from which he 
emerged with the honorable record of a 
lirave, faithful and gallant ]:)atriot. The 
maternal great grandfather. Michael Grenell. 
was participant in the battle of Saratoga, and 
in that engagement distinguished himself by 
his courage and devotion. 

Mr. Blanding received a thorough commoti 
school education, and after covu'ses in several 
academies entered Bucknell University at 
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, the leading Baptist 
collegiate institution of the State, from which 
he graduated in 1852 as valedictorian of his 
class, with degree of Bachelor of Arts. Three 
years later he received from his Alma Mater 
the degree of Master of Arts. 

After graduation he started to read law, 
but shortly after was made cashier of the 
Pennsylvania Coal Company, which position 
he resigned liecause of failing health, and 
came West, arriving in Rock Island July 4, 
1856. He resumed the study of law under 
.Judge Ira O. Wilkinson, and in 1S5S was 
admitted to jiractice. He was appointed 
City Attorney of Rock Island about this 
time and served several terms; was also 
elected in 1858 County Superintendent of 
Schools. He was twice a candidate for 
County Judge on the Democratic ticket; 
though defeated, his vote cut down the regu- 
lar Re]niblican nuijority six or eight htmdred 
votes each time, thereby denK)nstrating his 
personal strength and stamling. 

In 1862 .Mr. Hlandiug went to St. Louis and 
entered into law ])artnershii) with M. J.. CJray. 
While he was here he enlisted in the militia 
of the State of Missouri anil was honorably 
discharged on account of sickness; re-enlisted 
in Company A, St. Louis National Guards. 



In connection with this it is interesting to 
observe that nearly every member of the 
Company, both officers and privates, was a 
member of the bar. 

After the close of the Civil War Mr. Bland- 
ing returned to Rock Island to practice law. 
until 1868, when he engaged in bridge and 
railway constfuction, which business he con- 
tinued to follow to the end of his active 
Ijusiness career. 

In |)olitics Mr. Blanding was a Democrat. 
He was elected Mayor of Rock Island in 
1888 and his record as an accomplished ])ar- 
liamentarian and impartial presidingofficerhas 
never been excelled in the history of the City. 

Mr. Blanding was closely identified with 
Ma.sonry since 1855, at which time he was 
made a Master Mason at Honesdale, Penn- 
sylvania. He has been Worshipful Master 
of Trio Lodge, Ancient Free and AccejJted 
Masons; High Priest of Barrett Chapter, No. 
18, Royal Arch Masons; and when Everts 
Commandery, No. 18, Knights Templar was 
organized at Rock Island, he was honored 
with the highest position in the gift of its 
members, serving as Eminent Commander; 
was also District Deputy Grand Master 
under Grand Master DeWitt C. Cregier of 
the Grand Lodge of the State of Illinois; was 
also Grand Orator of Illinois Grand Lodge, 
Ancient Free and Accepted ilasons, for the 
year 1901. 

Mr. Blanding was married in 1863 to Anna 
McNeil, who was born in Wheeling, West 
Virginia. They have two children, Lowrie 
C. and Marion J. Blanding. 

m m m 
HON. GEORGE W. VINTON. 

IT IS a pleasure for the writer to take up the 
cai'cer of men who, through long years of 
residence in Rock Island County, have by 
their u])right lives and splendid deeds won 
for themselves the enduring respect and regard 
of their fellow citizens. In this class the Hon- 
orable George W. Vinton stands prominent. 



HISTORIC una k i s l a n d co u n t y 147 

He was lioni at .Mii|illrliur\'. \'{'riiiniit , Molinc, aii'l was also prcsiilciif (jf lie Si'IuhiI 

Deccnihei- .'). IS.'M. His I'alher was Juliii A. H<iar(l. In \S\Vl Mr. \'iiit(in was elcctpil 

Vinton, who served as a tlriunmer liny <lin'iii,i; a member of the Illinois State lje,a;islature. 

the War of 1812. After the close of (ha( war He received a majority of more than .seven 

the father received from the United States thousand, althoiiiih the district he reiire- 

(lovernment a tract of land for his services. sented hail always been strinigly Repnhlican. 

The elder \'iuton was a f^ood father, and gave While a memlier of the I.egislature lie was 

his son splendid advantages tor that early chairman of the following im])ortant com- 

day. At fhe age of fifteen years Clem-ge W. mittees. Public charities. State institutions, 

V nton graduated from the Randolph Aca.d- and militia. During the session in which he 

omy in his natis'e State. Here he was a was one of the representati\TS from this 

class-mate of the late Judge Austin Adams, disti'ict, he introduced a bill for the establish- 

a former ,Iudge of the Iowa Su])renie Court. nient of a liospital for the insane, that would 

After his graduation from the Acaileniy he be located west of the Illinois River. This 

wa.s engaged in teaching for six terms. Tiling, bill passeil, and the asylum was located at 

however, of the life of a jiedagogue, in 1S55 Watertown in this t'ounl\'. He also intro- 

he went west, settling in what was then the duced a bill appropriating <iiie inillion doUai's 

Territory of Minnesota Here he learned the to the World's Columbian loxposit ion, ludd 

cnr]3enter's trade. In the fall of the same in Chicago in IS'lli. P,y the terms of the bill 

year he came to Moline, where he tind'C the introduced by Mr. Vinton, nine hundred and 

contract to build the Riverside Acarlcmy. fifty thousand d<illars of this amount was to 

Afterward he entered the employ of his be used in the general expense fund, and lifly 

uncle, John Deere, and remained with the thousand dollars was for the erection of the 

firm until 1885. The scope of his employ- Woman's iiuilding. The State Hoard of 

ment necessitated his tra\elling from ocean Agriculture selected .Mr. X'iuton as manager 

to ocean establishing agencies to absorb the of the Illinois l'>uilding during the Ivxposit ion. 

outjiut of Mr. Deere's constantly expanding Afterward he was for a long time deputy 

business. I'or fifteen years he was also a collector of internal re\enue for the Peoria 

stockholder and direct(U' in the firm. District. 

In ]S7.") Mr. X'inton removeil to Burlington, In his fraternal allegiance Mr. \'inton is 

Iowa, where he (>rected the Buffington Wheel connected with the Masonic Order and the 

Company's works. He owned a ccmsidcrable Knights of Pythias. 

interest in this indiisti'y for some time. In During his long residence in Roidc Isl.and 

1.S87 he returned to Moline. ("ounty he has won and merited the regard 

In jiolitical conviction Mi', \inton was for and esteem of his fellow citizens. As a public 

a numliei' of years one of the leading i{epub- official he was always intrepid in performing 

licans of Illinois. At one time he was that his duty as he saw it, ami his public career 

party's candidate for Lieutenant-( lovernor. was one of miblemished integrity, as was his 

Howe\'er. when Horace (Ireeley was a can- ])rivate life, 
didate for President of flic rniled St.-ites Mr. 5?? 5g K 

X'iiiton gave his support to the I )emoi'ratii' ^i t a pm rr ^n a \wr-r^nr^ ^ a n-nrr, 

party, and tins latter party has lieen the one ^R, CHARLES CRAWFORD CARTER. 

of his choice ever since. K.I** \'CC.\TI( ).\' in life offers opportunity 

While a resident of Burlington he served as I \l for greater genuine service to mankind 

Alderman for four years. He was for many than that of doctor of medicine, and 

years chairman of the old Town iioard of tlie physician who fully appreciates his 



148 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



responsiI)ilitie.s and Cdnscieiitinu.sly res])on(ls 
to every call made upon him is a ])ul)Iic 
benefactor in the highest sense of the term. 
There can be no question as to the reward 
that will be his in the after life. 

Such a man was Charles Crawford Carter, 
one of the best known and most generally 
l)eloved medical ])ractitioners who c\'er min- 
istered to the ills of the people of Rock Lsland 
County. Purity of mind, lofty ideals, and 
unselfish devotion to the welfare of others 
were manifested strikingly throughout the 
quarter of a century he jiracticed his ])ro- 
fession in Rock Island and surrounding 
country, and in return he was esteemed and 
loved by all witli whom he came in contact. 
Characteristic disregartl of his own jihysical 
welfare where the needs of others were in- 
volved was manifested in the last act of his 
life, when he contracted septic pneumonia, 
which cpiickly claimed him, while ministering 
to a patient. 

Dr. Carter was born in San Francisco 
December 20, 1852, and died April 2, 1<)()4, 
after an illness of one week. His ]>ai'ents 
were lilijah and Ann Maria ^\'hitney Carter, 
the former a native of Vermont and the 
latter of Massachusetts, and of ]nn-itan 
ancestry. The father was amon.g those who 
braved the terrors of Cape Horn in '49 to 
seek the golden harvest of the Pacific slope, 
returning a few years later to make his perm- 
anent home in Rock Island. He was jironii- 
nently identified with the business life of the 
young city on the banks of the Mississippi. 
He served a term as mayor, was later super- 
intendent of the Rock Island Glass Works, 
and for a nund)er of years held the office of 
guager. His marriage to Ann Maria Whitney 
took jilace in 1851. He died January 14, 
1887, and his wile folluwed March 14, 1888. 

After r(!ceiving a comon school and aca- 
demic training at Rock Island the son, in 
187:i, went to Pawtucket, Hliode Island, 
where he l)egan the study of medicine under 
Dr. James Orne Whitney, a physician who 



stood high in his profession. In the year 
1876 Dr. Carter graduated with high honors 
from liellevue Medical College, of New York. 
Ten years later he took a post-graduate 
course in the metro|jolis. At the time of his 
demise he had practiced twenty-eight years 
in Rock Island. At first he was associated 
with the late Dr. Cahin Truesdale. Then, 
for a time, he jiracticed alone. pA-entually 
he formed a business alliance with Dr. C. 
Bernhardi and Dr. G. G. Craig, Sr., which 
held until his death. 

Dr. Carter was a member of the American 
Medical Association of Military Surgeons of 
the United States, Illinois State ]\IedicaI 
Society, Illinois Association of Military Sur- 
geons, Illinois ami Iowa Central District 
Medical Society, and of the Rock Island 
County Medical Society, being vice-president 
of the last named at the time of his death. 

He had many times served as delegate to 
the State and National liodies to which he 
belonged. He luid foi- twenty years been 
surgeon for the Illinois National Guard, 
attaining the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, 
with ranked as Assistant Surgeon General of 
Illinois. He was also a member of the me- 
dical and surgical staff of St. Anthony's 
hospital. 

Aside from his ])rofession Dr. Carter was a 
faithful meml)er of Trinity Episco])al Church, 
serving at one time as vestryman; he was 
elected to membershi]) in the board of educa- 
tion; was a charter member and director of 
the Rock Island Club, and was affiliated with 
a number of fraternal organizations. 



FRANK H. KELLY. 

FRANK H. KELLY, one of the younger 
members of th(> Rock Island County bar, 
is a native ;uid a lifelong resident of the 
city in which he now ])ractices his ]irofession. 
He was born in Rock Island, Lebruary S, 
1870, the son of P. H. and Ellen Kelly. 
After comj)leting u course in the pul>lic 



// / ,S' T RIC ROCK I S L AND COUNT Y 



149 



schools and tlien attending liigh scIukiI. lie 
chose a career before the liar and liejiaii the 
stud_v of law in the University of Michigan 
Law Schoiil, from which he graduated in 
1891. The following year. Feliruary 1. l,S9-2, 
he began practicing and has l)een actively 
engaged e\'cr since. 

Mr. Kelly was appointed Master in Chanc- 
ery in l'\>liruary. 19(14. and serve<l (iii(> tci'ui 
of two years. In Mai'cli, 19(Hi. he was ap- 
)iointed assistant State's .\ttiirney. and holds 
that cillice at present, lie and J. K. Scott, 
State's Attorney. di\-i(ling the duties of an 
iinusnally active administration. 

Mr. Kelly's spiritual aliiliations are Cath- 
(ilic. Politically he is a Republican and has 
devoted much time and met with considerable 
success in fui-thering the interests of his 
party. Fraternally, he belongs to the Benev- 
olent and Protect i\e Order of Elks, ^lodern 
Woodmen of America, Court of H<inor, 
Fraternal Order of Eagles, and iMystic Work- 
ers. Personally, he is imassuming, of easy 
address, and popular among all classes to an 
unusual degree. 

June 5, 1S95, Mr. Kelly married Anna A. 
Slattery, of Davenport, Iowa, and the imion 
has been blessetl with Iwn daughters, M.-iry 
E., and Anna Y.. both living. 

ig Sg K 

CARL 0. BERNHARDl, M. D. 

IT IS seldom that a young physician entering 
upon the practice of his profession achieves 
instantaneous and striking .success. The 
path that leails to a large and lucrati\-e 
practice is in nearly e\'ery case a weary anil a 
tortuous one. But to all rules there arc 
exceptions. The young ])hysician whose life 
we are to discuss in this sketch, Doctoi' Cai'l 
O. Bernhardi, although one of th(> younger 
of Rock Islaml County's )ihysicians, has, 
nevertheless, in the few brief years that he has 
l)raotice(l his calling, attained an eminence that 
places him well in tlie van as a prominent and 
successful member of the medical profession. 



He was born January 3, l.SSO, his ])arents 
being Dr. Cai'l and .Mrs. Zoe .Julia Bernhardi. 
A sketch of the life of Dr. Carl J^ernhardi 
appears upon another page of this volume. 
Dr. Carl O. Bernhardi's early education was 
olitained in the Rock Island (lerinan School, 
the Rock Island Publir School and the High 
Schocd. After graduating from this latter 
institution he entci-ed the rni\'ersit\' of 
Illinois, where he pursued a specially selected 
course adapted as a. ])reliminary to the medi- 
cal c(uirse which he intended to hillow later. 
Cpon the ciunpletion of his c<iurse in the 
University of Illinois he entered Rtish JMetlical 
College at Chicago in 1898. graduatin,g with 
tlie degree of Doctor of Medicine in 191112. 
,\fter his graduation he served as house 
physician for two years in the Presbyterian 
Hospital at Chicago. This experience was a 
most ^■aluable fine, enabling the young 
|ihysician to obser\e many and varied medi- 
cal and surgical cases, as well as to come in 
contact with some of the most skilled and 
prominent pliysicians and surgeons in the 
United States, and to note their methods of 
diagnosis and treatment in difhcult and 
lia filing cases. 

In 19(14 Dr. Bernhardi entereil tlie medical 
field at Buck Island, where his father had 
been in practice for man}' years. As has 
lieen said, his success here was instantaneous 
and complete. Being naturally endowed with 
a genial nature and agreeable manners he 
made hosts of friends and the extent of his 
jiractice rapidly increased. He is the attend- 
ing [ihysiciaii for the Old Ladies' Home, 
recently established here. 

In politics Dr. Bernhardi follows in the 
ste])s of his father, and gives his allegiance to 
the platform and principles of the Republican 
pai'ty. He is a member of the Modern Wood- 
men of .\merica and the Rock Island Lodge 
of Elks, Illinois State Medical Society, Rock 
Island County Medical Society .and the Iowa 
and Illinois District Medical Society. He is 
a learneil and skillful pliysician. .'lud a young 



ITiO 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



man in every way entitled to the ailniiration 
and respect of all who know him. 

K? 3S Jig 

CARL BERNHARDI, M. D. 

ONK of Rock Island'.s long established 
jihysicians who has achieved an envi- 
able reputation in his profession, and 
who is held in high personal regard by all who 
know him, is Doctor Carl Bernhardi. 

He was born September 10, 1843, in the 
City of Koenigsberg, East Prussia, Germany. 
Here he spent his boyhood, receiving his pre- 
liminary education in the schools and col- 
leges of his native city, and finally entered 
the medical department of the University of 
Koenigsberg in 1863. He continued his 
medical course in this university until the 
Autumn of 1866, when he went to the Uni- 
versity of I5erlin. From this latter institu- 
tion he graduated one year later, August 15, 
1S67. 

Previous to his graduation Doctor Bern- 
hardi served as a volu teer surgeon during 
the war between Prussis and Austria in 1866. 
He was present at the battles of Nathod and 
Skalitz, which occurred Juue 27 and 28 of 
that yeai', and also the battle of Koenigraetz, 
which occurred .July 3. ' He was discharged 
at the close of the war which terminated 
September 3, 1866. He remaind in Germany 
until March, 18,69, when he came to the 
Ignited Stats,, .going inimediately' . to old 
friends at St. Lo"uis. While there he learned 
that there was an o]:)ening ■ for a German 
physician at Rock Island -and -conseque tly 
decided to locate here. ' He' arrived in-Rock 
Island on A])ril '22. 1869, and -has ever sifice 
been one of this city's successful physicians 
and highly resjjected citizens. 

On October 10, 1873, occurred the nuptials 
of Doctor Benihardi and Miss Zoe Olshausen, 
daughter of l)i-. ,1. ,1. Olshausen, of Daven- 
port, Iowa. l)()ctor Ol-haiiscn had foi'mcrh- 
practiced medicine in St. Louis, and in I hat 
city Miss Olshausen was born. To Doctor 



Bernh.nrtli and his wife four children have 
been born: Claire Marie, married October 
10, 1898, to Doctor Alfred Schalek, then 
assistant professor of dermatology at Rush 
Medical College in Chicago. Doctor Schalek 
is now professor of dermatology in the medical 
department of the University of Nebraska 
at Omaha. Doctor and Mrs. Schalek have 
one daughter. Zoe Carola, about six years of 
age; Anne Ottilie, nuirried ,June 3, 1903, to 
H. Woodworth Cluni, of Washington, District 
of Columbia. Mr. Clum has for some time 
been engaged in newspaper work, and is at 
])resent secretary of the board of trade of 
Trenton, New .Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Clum 
have two children, Elizabeth Anne, aged 
three years, and Carl Bernie, aged eight 
riionths; Doctor Carl Oscar Bernhardi, a 
sketch of whose life is given elsewhere in this 
work .nnd Miss Zoe Julie Bernhardi at home. 

In politics Doctor Bernhardi has always 
been a Republican, and is prominently identi- 
fied, with that party locally, for although the 
many demands of his professional calling left 
him but little time to devote to active 
political work, yet he was always ready to 
assist his party in any numner that lay in 
his power. He was ( wice appointed a member 
of the juiblir library board; was elected a 
member of- the board of education for a 
three years term in the early nineties, and 
w'as County Physician for several j^ears. 

Doctor Bei'nhaTtU is a member of the medi- 
cal .stafT of St- Anthony's Hospital in Rock 
Islanil, and an honorary member of the staff 
of Mercy Hysiiital at Davenport, Iowa. He 
has also- been a member of the American 
Medical Association, since 1888, and of the 
Illinois State Medical Society since 1872. He 
was the first president of the Rock Island 
County Medical Society, and is a member of 
the Iowa and Illinois District Medical Society. 

For years Doctor Bernhardi was an actix-c 
member of the Rock Island Turner Society, 
lie is now an honorary memlier of that organ- 
ization. He is e.\-president of the former 




W III. 1AM M. i:\II. "I" 



// I sro R I C R C K ISLAND CO U N T Y 



151 



(lernian-En,i^lish StIiodI Society, and a charter 
member of (iei'maiiia J.oilge, Ancient Order 
of United Worl<men. He is also a charter 
memliei' of Camp No. 30!), Modern Woodmen 
of America, and of Home Tribunal, No. 1, 
Fraternal Tribunes. He i.s a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, havino- passed tlirou.sih 
tlie Bhie F-odjie. ('liajiter and Commandery, 
and is a member of Kaaba Temple of the 
Order of the .Mystic Slu'ine at Davenport, 
Iowa. He also belon.ijs to the Benevolent 
and l'rotecti\'e Order of Elks. 

So widely known is ])octor Bcridiardi thai 
it seems indeed uiiiiecessai'v to e\'en attenipl 
a ilelineation of llu> character of the man. 
The collective opinion of tln)sc to whom he 
has ministered in sickness and who know his 
kind and ueiitle ways in the sick I'oom, and 
his mitirinji' effoi-ts to alleviate suffering and 
to combat disease, is the best tribute that 
can be p.aid libn. 

!S 5« JS 

^X^ILUA^1 McEINIRY 

VWylfdJAM MrKNIRY.one of the early 
\y settlers of tlie County of Rock Island, 
was born in Cliarle\-ill, County Cork. 
Ireland, a vilhme near the line of County 
Limerick, on l''ebruary lo. 1,S17, where he 
recciveil his education and where he was 
encased in mercantile business two \-ears 
])rior to his departure for America wliich was 
in April I.S4(I, havina; heard much of the 
Ihiited States from an uncle wlio at that 
time lived in Albany, New York, he concludetl 
to pay a visit to his uncle, and in ciunpany 
with his eldest sister, departed for America, 
arrivin.a; in New York City on a sailin.s; vessel, 
steam vessels not bcint; in use. He proceeded 
up the Hu<lson Ri\-er on a steaml)oat to the 
City of Alljany, ami while visitinji' with his 
uncle he learned much of the country west of 
the Hudson River along the Erie Canal 
which had recently been o]:)ened to inn-ina- 
,!;ation. He decided to take a trip up I he 
can.'d to S\-racuse, and whil(> there formeil the 



acquaintance of John White, brother of the 
late S]iencer White of Moline, who induced 
him to take charge of (he ollice of a l:>rick 
factory he was opei'ating. In the Spring of 
bS41 .John White's father and mother were 
desirous of coming to I'eoria, Illinois, to make 
their home with a dauglitei- in that citv. 
.[olm White imluced him to take the old 
couple by team IVom Syracuse to Peoria, 
di-i\-ing across the country. .After reacliing 
I'eoria tlie okl ])eople desired to send a letter 
to their son, Spencer White, who was in 
Moline, and he x'ohmteered to firing the 
lellei- to Moline, walking ovei' in two days. 
lie was ambitious to s(>e the Mississi]i])i 
Ri\'ei' and took adv;mtage of this op|)ort\mit\' 
to arri\e at its banks. When he arrived in 
.Moline Spencer White, having heartl of him 
from his brother .lolm White of Syracuse, 
induced him to jdin with him in the manu- 
facturing of brick, which he did, e.xi^ecting 
all the time, howe\er, to sooner or later 
return to his home in Ii'eland, but the longer 
he remained in Moline the more he liecame 
attached to the counti-y, and finally decided 
to cast his lot with the early settlers of this 
<'ommunity an<l as a result enlarged tho 
brick business and accpiired considerable real 
estate in Moline, Rock Island and Davenport. 
After being in Moline five years, the Summer 
of 1S46 he retm-ned to Ireland to pay a visit 
to his family, anil before returnin.g to America, 
in the Sjiring of 1S47, he w^as married to 
I<]lizabeth Coughlin, and aftei- i-elating to his 
brothers the wonderful opportunities there 
were in tins country and the liberties guaran- 
teed by the Government, three of them and 
another sister rlecided to come to America 
with him and liis briile, ai'i-iving in Moline in 
the Summer of 1S47, crossing the Atlantic 
on ,■! sailing vessel taking the better jiart of 
a month to reach New York (steam vessels 
still not being used to cross the Atlantic), 
traveling u]i the Hudson Ri\'er to Albany 
by boat and from yMb;m\' to P>nff,alo by 
can.al, and fi'(Hn lluff.alo to Chicago b\ Lake 



152 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



vessel, and by stage from Chicau'o to Galena, 
and down the Mississippi River l)y boat from 
(lalena to Rock Island. He continued in 
the manufacturing of brick in Moline, and 
dealing; in real estate, till 1853 when he 
decided to go farming and bought the C!(jrton 
farm on the banks of Rock River in Zuma 
Township, wliere he was engaged in extensive 
farming and stock raising up to the time of 
his death, which occurred on the ISth day of 
February, 1874. He left surviving him his 
widow and six children: Mrs. T. T. Uwyer, 
of St. Louis; M. F. McEnirj', of J.eno.x, Iowa; 
.John, Matthew and Mary McEniry, of Moline; 
and Honorable William McEniry, of Rock 
Island. After his death his wife remained 
on the farm, with the family, giving them all 
a collegiate education, and when the last of 
the children decided to leave the farm she 
removed to ^loline in 1893, her former hcnue, 
where she lived imtil the time of her death, 
the 3()th of May, 1907. 

Mr. McEniry was the first English speaking 
Roman Catholic to reside in the County of 
Rock Island, and his wife was the first Roman 
Catholic lady A\ho resided in Moline, and the 
first Mass celebrated in Moline was cele- 
brated in his house by Father Pelemoreus, 
resident priest of Davenjiort, Iowa, in .July, 
1847. 

On arriving in this country he affiliated 
with the Democratic party, the principles of 
that jxirty of equal rights for all and special 
privileges for none appealed to his idea of 
government, the ])rinci])lps of government he 
advocated in Ireland and for which the Irisli 
))eople had demanded from the English 
(lovernmont for centuries, .\lthough a firm 
Ijeliever in (lie ])rincij)les of his p,art\- he was 
adverse to holding a [lublic office. 

He belonged particularly to that class of 
men who were possessed of courage and 
determiiKition and who built up the (ireat 
West and did so much to leax'C the magnificenl 
heritage uliich is now enjoyed by the prescMil 
generation. 



WILLIAM H. MARSHALL. 

THE combination of human attributes 
which yields success in many fields, 
though a rare one, is embodieil in the 
subject of this review. The drug business, 
manufacturing, stock raising, what ever he 
has turned his hand to, has given a lialance 
on the right side of the ledger, so carefully 
has he studied and so well has he wrought. 

William H. jMarshall was born Ajiril 23, 
1851, in Warren County, Indiana. He was 
the youngest of eleven children, five of whom 
are still living. His father was Ivlwai'd P. 
^larshall anil his mother Ann (Kellam) 
Marshall, hath being natives of Pennsylvania, 
and of Quaker ancestry and belief. The 
jiarents in the early forties settled in Indiana, 
where the father followed farming and stock 
raising (ill 1854, when he removed to \'er- 
inillion, Illinois, where he died in 1857. His 
mother having ])assed away in 1852. our 
sidiject was thi'own upon his own resources 
at an unusually early age. His education 
was obtained in the common schools, and at 
the age of twenty he obtained a ])lace in a 
drug store at Rossville, Illinois. Here he 
reiuained two years, rapidly mastering the 
details of the b\isiness. Leaving Rossville 
he located at Shi])man, Illinois, and there 
soon found a friend who made it ]X)ssible for 
Mr. Marshall to start in business for himself. 
Success smiled upon him from the beginning, 
and at the entl of five years he sold out and 
came to Rock Island in search of wider 
o])]iortunities. This was in April, 1880. He 
bought the Harper House Pharmacy, which 
he comlucted twenty-two years, retiring in 
1002 to he able to give more attention to his 
other interests. These include holdings in a 
numbei' of Hock Island manufact ui'ing con- 
cerns by which he has been honoi'e I with 
important oHices, and tracts of laml in Rock 
Islaiiil County and in Okl.alioma. 

Mr. Marshall, September 3. 1893. was 
united in marriage with Miss l']|ise .-Vugusta 




WILLIAM 11. MAUSUALL. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNT Y 153 

Doiikiiiniin, daunlif cr (if Frederick V. A. ami until his a|i|i(iiritnieiit as assistant Secre- 

and Catherine Denkniaim, of Knck Ishmd. tary of the State ]5oard iif Charities by 

Two children have Ijlessed their union, (lo\-ei'n(H' Tanner, This (iffice he resig'ned to 

Roliert Denkniaiin ^^arshall and Ann Catli- accept the chief clerkshi]i of the Western 

erine Marshall. Hospital for the Insane at Watertown, 

Mr. Marshall, while he has ne\-er taken an ,\f(er fnur years service there he resigned and 

active pai't in politics, is a suhsci-ibei- tii the became .^-eiieral niana.ner of the Tri-City 

doctrines of the Republican ]iarty. iM'alern- Pasteurized Milk Cdinpany, inv whom he 

a'ly, he is a Mason. planned and devel(i|ied the larue dairv farm 

ojf jg 5g in lUack Hawk To\vnshi]i. In l!)(l.") he 

IHHN \Y/°PAR^FR purchased an interest in the Knck Island 

JUnn W. rAKKLK. Skirt Company, becmiiiif;- maiKi^er of that 

AMONd the youn^;er business men of cnncein, alfliou,!;h cnntinuinii- as secretary 
Rock Island Comit\- few lia\-e deimm- aiil director of the Milk Company until 
strateil their ability in as many difl'erenf .January 1, l',)U7, when his conmvlion with 
fields ;is has John W, Parker. City bred, and it ceased. ^Mr. Parker is also .actixcly en- 
trained originally for commercial pursuits, he fiag(\l in local timber opeiat ions, ownini;; 
has been successful alike in trade, manufac- se\-ei-al tracts of slandin,g limbei- in the 
tnrin.u, ])olitics and even a.gricult ui'e. In County. 

addition, he lias through his own efforts, I''rom his father, who s one of the oldest 

secured a liberal eclucation, including a fail' newspaper writei's in t he State ami a lifi'-long 

knowledge of law, although dependent upon Republican, Mr. I'ai'ker inherileil ;in interest 

his own resources since the age of sixteen. in public matt(>rs which has manifested itself 

Mr. Parker was born November 1. 1S7(I, at iu his acli\-e woi'k in politics. This has been 

Henry. Illinois, the son of Samuel ami .Vnna uioic than local, his <'oimsel carrying weight 

Parkt'i-. His fatlier was a nati\-e of Ohio annng the Stale lea<lers. II(> has been 

and his mother was l)orn in Ireland of Scotch- sei-retary of tlie Illinois League of liepublican 

liish ;mct'stry. He attended the grammar Clubs and later presi(l(>nf of that organiza- 

anil high .schooLs of Chicago before gtung to tion, also Inning been one of the executive 

work at the age of sixteen as stockkeeper for committee of the National Uepublican 

the \\'estern Electric Coniiiany. He ad- League. 

\aiiced i-a]iiilly, becoming tiniekee]5er, pay- Mi'. Parker, dui'ing his resideni'c in Rock 

master, assistant cashier and purchasing Island, li.-is been actixe in almost every 

agent, finally resigning after six years to mo\ement for public good. Se\'ei'al years 

engage in the I'eal estate business. Two a.go his personal efforts liroughl the then 

years later he took up the study of law in the Secretary of War, I'^lihu Root, to inspect the 

offices of William Iv Mason, at the same time Arsenal, resulting in greatly increased a])])ro- 

being employee! as teacher in th(> Chica.go priations for the small arms phant. Mr. 

jinblic night schools. |)ui-ing .Mi-. .Mason's Parker was also one of the committee of 

successful campaign for the I'nited States fifty which i-aiscil the .flOO.OOl) fact irv fund, 

SiMiate Mr. P.arkcr was his secretary and and is ;i director of (hat organizal ion. Fra- 

acti\-e political lieutenant, acquiring in this ternally, he adiliates with tlie Mas, ins and 

way an intimate ac(piaiiitaiice uitli the lead- Modern Woodmen, 
ing men of the State. Mr. Parker man-ied Sarah XichoN .lune l':! 

Ill INiX) Mr. Parker was a])pointed assistant PtOfi, at Chicago. They have but one child, 

City Sealei' for Chica.go, serving two vears Sainiiel. 



154 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



WILLIAM COYNE, SENIOR. 

ROCK ISLAND County owes much to its 
Irish sons. They have tilled its soil, 
built up, developed and directed its 
industries, and are today among its most 
substantial and energetic citizens. In no case 
is the obligation more real than in that of 
William Coyne, senior. " I'nele Billy," as he 
is popidarly known. He was one of the 
earliest comers to this locality from Erin's 
Isle, and after more than sixty-two years 
residence here is still a man of remarkable 
activity. He has been one of the county's 
heaviest land holders, and though he has 
turned the greater ]:)ortion of his estate over 
to his children he still directs the cultivation 
of a small farm and continues to actively look 
after his other business interests. 

William Coyne, seinor, is a native of Ire- 
land, born June 11, 1822, the son of Thomas 
and Martha (Brown) Coyne. His parents 
were Irish and the father died in that country 
when the son was yoimg. The mother late 
in life came to America and spent her last 
days among her children, dying in Rock 
Island about 1887. There were six children: 
Mariah, Margaret, Matilda, ,Jane. William 
and Robert. Jane died in the mother 
country, but the others all became citizens 
of the United States. William is now the 
sole survivor of the family. 

Our subject was reared a, farmer and has 
follov\ed that vocation ])r:ictically all liis life. 
He received but a limited education, but in 
later life found time to remedy the defects of 
his early training and become thoroughly 
posted, both in relation to business affairs 
and in a general way. He sailetl for America 
in 184.5 on the sailing vessel "Liverpool," 
which was eighteen weeks traversing the 
Atlantic. Mr. Coyne reached Rock Island 
June 11 of that year with- just one shilling in 
his ]jocket. Being accompanied by a friend 
named James McCabe, who desired to go to 
(lalen.'i but needed funds, our subject IckiiiimI 



his last shilling, and. penniless, went to work 
at a brickyard in Moline for thirteen dollars 
per month, his employer being William Mc- 
Eniry. .\t the close of the season Mr. Coyne 
returned to Rock Island pin-chased a horse 
and dray, with which he earned a livelihood 
in Rock Island and Daven]iort for a couple 
of years. During this time he hauled mail 
from the postoffice to the boats, which 
were then the princi|)al carriers in this 
vicinity. 

Mr. Coyne next liecame a farmer, purchas- 
ing and settling upon eighty acres of land in 
Bowding Township. On this old homestead 
he lived till the Spring of 1901, when he 
removed to the place on which he now 
resides in Black Hawk Township, two miles 
south of Milan. Beginning as a farmer with 
small ca|)ital, Mr. Coyne's energy, progress- 
iveness and economy soon won him substan- 
tial rewards. As his fortune grew he invested 
in real estate, becoming in time one of the 
most well-to-do citizens of the community. 
At one time he owned 1,700 acres of land in 
Rock Island County, besides six lumdred and 
forty acres in South Dakota, two hundred 
and forty acres in Nebraska and one hundred 
and sixty acres in Kansas. In late years, 
however, he has given all his land to his 
children with the exception of the eighty 
acres upon which he now lives. 

Mr. Coyne has been thrice married. His 
first union was with Miss Elizabeth McKee, 
December 26, 1855. One child was born to 
this union, but died in infancy. The mother 
did not long survive. The second marriage 
was with Miss Margaret Morrison. July 4, 
1860. She was a native of Ireland and came 
to .\merica with her parents in early woman- 
hood. lOight chiklren resulted from the 
second union, as follows: William T., liorn 
Jime 16, 1861; Elizabeth J., born June 14, 
ISO:^; .\Iexander W., born M:irch 15, LSOli; 
■lames, born November 10, 1867; Lydia A., 
born Eeljruary 22, LSdO; .lulia .\., bin-n June 
10. IS70; iMlward S.. born October 25, 1873; 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 155 

and Francis, liorn March S, 1S7(). The cattle and tine hdrses. Mr. and Mrs. Coyne 

mother of this family died ill Xovenihcr, 1SS(). are the parents of one child, Elizahoth A., 

June 3, 1901, Mr. (Zoyne married Mrs. Hessie liorn Felirnary 21, iSi)?. 

Foster. m m ^ 

Mr. Coviie is a momiier of the .Methodist wnirTAnn t' ^^\/Mr 

Fpi.scopal Church, of M.Ian. He has s.cadilv WILLIAM T. COYNE, 

espoused the cause of the Pvepulilic:iii paily \"\ /yl hl.I .\M T. C()\' .\' !•; is one of tlie cnter- 

aiid taken an active interest in the aflairs of Vv f'i'^in.i; and up-to-date agriculturists 

that orti'anizalioii. thouii;li he has ne\('r s(uinht of Rural Township, liock Island 

])olitical fa\-ors. County, and a nienilier of one of ihe pioneer 

j^ 5j? s° families. He is a n,ati\-e s<in of the County, 

I A nnr-(- ^^^\/Nir- ha\iiiii I lecii liorii ill Pxiwlinff Township .liiiie 

JAMES COYNE. ,,. ,^,.r u ■ t wu- i \i 

1(), 1S()1. He IS a son ol W ilhaiii .■ind .Mar- 

TH I'i man whose name appears at Ihe head aaret (.Morrison) Coyne. l>orn on the farm, 

of this sketch is known as one of the ln' has alwa\s followed that \dcation. With 

most industrious and enteriirisini^ farm- a limited schooliuij, he. liy study and close 

ers of Howling' Township, where he was liorii oi)servation, has gaiiieil through his own 

and has s])ent all his life. He first opened efforts a ready fund of general information, 

his eyes upon this world Xo\'endier I'.l. lMi7. as well as a good working ca|)ital of s|iecial 

his jiarents being William and Margai-el knowledge of use !;> him in his hiisiness. He 

(Morrison) Coyne. He attended the puMic was married in Rural Township .March .S, 

schools of the County, and February IS, iS'.Ki. Isii:!, to .Miss Carrie M. Crillilh. The latter 

was married to Miss Eilza A. Haiier. The was f)orn in Rock Island .l.anuarv '_*!!, 1S70, 

hitter is also a native of Ijowliiig. She was 1 he daughter of hMwood ;iiid Carrie I'j. (Haiilcli) 

born Septeinlier 3. ISG'.). the daugliirr <if ( irillith, now of Rural. 

Jacob and Mary (McDonald) P)auei-. Her .After his marriage .Mr. Co\iie set I led on I he 

mother was a native of Ireland ami her farm he now occupies in Rural. The land at 

father a iiati\'e of Germany, they being liorn tliat time was Liadly run ilowii and poorly 

in 1845 ,and 1S21 resjiectivel)'. Mr. and inipro\ed, but by hard wurk .and I he applica- 

Mrs. Bauer were among the early settlers of tioii of advanced methods of agriculture ho 

the County. They were married here in has brought the land to a high state of culti- 

1S()S. and immediately took u]) their residence vation, and now owns two hundred and forty 

on the farm they still occupy. Their children acres of the best ]iroduciiig gi-oimd in the 

are. l'>li/,a A., Emma .1.. Mai'y Iv, and vicinity, as well as one of the most coinfort- 

Sarah A., besides a son who ilied in able homes. 

infancy. In his political \'iews Mr. Co\ne is a staunch 

Mr. Co\-ne after his marriage began the Re])ublican. He stands high in the com- 

ciill i\'al ion of a farm in P>lack Hawk Town- munity as a citizen and neighbor, being Ijest 

ship. In .lanuary, 10(17. he remo\(Ml lo Ihe liked bv those who know hiiii best. 

place he now occuiiies. He is the owner of i? jg Si 

one liundred and si.xtv acres of land in b)lack a r r-\/ a mf^i-i^ wrr ^^x/mi- 

Hawk and one hundre:! and Iwentv acres ALEXANDER W. COYNE, 

adjoining in I'owliiig. In his methods he is 'T~'IIAT farming in Rock Island Countv is 

practical and at the same time thoroughly I a iirofttable occu])alioii is attesteil by 

up-to-date. He makes a S])ecialty of breed- the subj(>ct of this sketch, who. ihoiigh 

ing improsed Chester White hogs, Short Horn in business for himself but a few \'ears. is now 



156 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



the owner of two luindred and sixty acres of 
well ini])roved land in section eleven, Pxiwlini;: 
Townshij). He was born in the same Town- 
ship, the son of William and Margaret (Morri- 
son) Coyne, March 15, 1S66. After the usual 
schooling of the country hoy and the practical 
preparation for life on the farm, he married 
March 27, 1901, Miss Nora S. Doonan. of 
Mercer tVninty. Illinois The latter is the 
daughter of James R., and Bessie Doonan, 
and was liorn in Mercer County October 30, 
1876. Mr. Coyne after his marriage settled 
on the farm he now occupies, and has cidti- 
vated it since with unvarying success. He 
and his worthy wife are the jiarents of one 
son, Everett D., born March 13, 1905. Mr. 
Coyne is an ardent Repuljlican. He has 
served two terms as Townslii]i Tax Cnl- 
lector. 

Si Jg « 

FRANCIS COYNE. 

ONE of the prosperous young farmers of 
Rock Island Comity is Francis Coyne, 
son of William and Margaret (Morrison) 
Coyne. He was born in Bowling Township, 
where he now resides. March 8, 1876. He 
received a common school education in the 
County and started out for liimself in 1902, 
following his marriage, when he established 
himself on the old homestead. In the Fall 
of 1904 he removed to the farm he now 
occupies. He now owns two huntlred and 
twenty acres of well improved land and is 
considered one of the well-to-do and sub- 
stantial citizens of the County. 

Mr. Coyne's marriage to Miss Theresa M. 
Koch took place in Rock Island County 
February 5, 1902. His wife is the daughter 
of Rudolph and Ella (Collins) Koch, and was 
liorn iu the County September 22, 1884. Her 
parents arc residents of Bowling Townshi]i. 
The father is a native of Pennsylvania, ha\-ing 
been born at I^rie .June 2, 1859. The mother 
was born at Dixon, Illinois, May 17. 18(i2. 
They were married at Rock Island .\ugiisl, 



15, 1883, and are the ])arents of three 
children, Theresa M., Raymond Ci. and 
Sylvia E. 

Sg i^ 5S 

EDWARD S. COYNE. 

A WELL known native son of Rock Island 
County is Edward S. Coyne, son of 
William and Margaret (Morrison) Coyne. 
He was born on the old homestead in Bowling 
Townshi]). on wliich he now resides, October 

25, 1873. Tilling the soil has been his sole 
occupation. In the Spring of 1896, he 
settled on one of his father's farms in section 
eleven, Bowling, where he resided till the 
S])ring of 1900. Then he removed to the 
farm he now occupies in section one. same 
township. He now owns two hundred and 
sixty acres of good land, which he cvdtivates 
with much success. 

Mr. Coyne was married in Rock Island 
December 23, 1895, his wife being Miss 
Margaret .1. Clark, daughter of William and 
Eliza (Gauley) Clark, early pioneers of the 
community. The parents are natives of 
Ireland, who took \ip their residence in Hock 
Island County soon after their marriage. 
The children born to them are: Robert A. 
and Sarah E., lioth deceased; David B.. 
lA'dia A., William A., James H, and Margaret 
J., the last named being born in Bowling 
February 23, 1876. 

^Ir. and Mrs. Coyne are the parents of five 
children: Florence M., born May 21, 1897; 
Raymond 1)., born April 26, 1898; Edward 
R., born July 22, 1900; Mildred E., born 
March 31, 1902; and Ethel L., born July 

26, 1905. 



WARNER L. EDDY, M. D. 

OXI'] of the successful medical practition- 
ers of Rock Island Cotmty is the subject 
of this re\'iew, who for fifteen years has 
followed his profession at Milan with a stead- 
ily increasing business. Dr. Eddy is a native 



// / ,S' T O h' I ( ' R C K I S L A N D C O V N T Y 157 

of the l']iii]>irc State, liaviiit; liccii Imu'ii in stnictiires throu.iilumt the City attest liis 

!\radi.s(iii Count}-. New York, Deccmher 17, mastery of the biiildin.i;' trade, and tlie sever.-il 

1SG9. He is a son of Homer and Ivlith S. hirjie contracts which he now lias on hand 

(Townsenil) l^(hl\-. Ilis father was hoin in indicate that his ahihty and workmanship 

iMadi.son County, New York, May '_'■_', 1.S42, are fully appreciated. 

and his mother m Cape May County, New -Mr. Trenkenschuli is a. son of Phillip and 

Jersey. Ma\' 17. 1S46. The pai-enfs were l%lizal)eth Trenkenschuli, who were of Cerman 

married in New Jersey, and after a residence descent. In 1902 he mai'iaed Louise M. Nold, 

of se\-eral years in New York settknl |)ernui- of Rock Lsland, and the fiaiil of this union 

neiifl\- on a farm in Cape May Count)-, Niwv was: Paul, horn 1!)().'), and I'dorence, born 

Jei'sey, where they still reside, The\- are the \Wri. 

l)arents of three children, Lucien C., .\rtliur Mr. Trenkenschuli received a common 

and Warner 1,.. <.if whom this sketch treats. school education, siijiplemented by a course 

The last named grew to manhood on the at the Davenport Commercial t'olle.sie. He 

farm, olitaininii' his education in the public beiian his trade when but sixteen years of 

schools and under a private tutor. In 1S,S7 a.ne. and he tenaciously clun,!i to it until his 

he bejian i-eadinu medicine under the instruc- present success has rewarded him. He is a 

lion of Doctor .Julius ^^'ay of Cape May member of Rock Island Lodge, No, (ioS, 

Court House, New- Jersey. Two years later .\ncient. Free and Accepted ^lasons, and ot 

he to(d\ up a regular course at \{\\'>^\\ .Medical Kock Island Cluipter, No. IS, Royal Arch 

College at Chicago, graduating in March, Masons. In politics he is a Ivepublican, and 

l.S9"2, After a few months s]ient in Chicago was at one time alderman from tlie Tliinl 

he came to Milan and has since followed his ^^'ard. Dui'ing his cidire business and polit- 

profession there. ical activity he has been este(Mned for his 

Dr. Eddy w-as married April 5, \S\r.\. U> integrity, his progressivencss and alertness, 

Mis.s Alice \'. I'ellows, the ceremonv- being and lor his gener(uis and congenial disposi- 

l)erformed in Chicago. Mrs. l<]ddy is the tion. 

daughter of Jonathan H. and Charlotte A. 5S 581 )S 

(Rich) Fellow^ 8he was born Julv C^. IStio. MONTGOMERY 
at .Arhngton Hei,gnts, Illinois. I wo children 

have been born to the couple: -Mien T.. QOIJERT J. MONTGOMERY , t he Mojine 

May 7. FS9."). and l'>dith 1,.. May o, 11)1111. [y manufacturer, was born May I'll, 1S(J4, 

Doctor Edily is a member of the Rock island on a farm near Orion, Heni'\- County' 

County .Medic'al Society, tlie Illinois Stale Illinois. His [jarents were Alexander Iv and 

Medical Society and the American Medical Margaret Montgomery. When but eight years 

Association. He and his wife are membei-s of age the family reino\-ed and took up resi- 

of the Methodist Church of .Milan. dence on Rock Island .\iseii:il, where tlii> son 

r^ ^- jf^ grew to manhood. After compjcl iiig a course 

PFTFD F TRFNVFNc:rHI IH in the Molinc public schools our subject learned 

PETER F. TRENKENSCHUH ,,,^, ,i,^,^^..,.,^ „.^,,,^, ^^^ ,.,„.|^ |^i^„„i Arsenal, 

B(M;.\ in llock Island in l.s?."). the abo\c but being ambitious to enter business foi- 
named gentleman, young though he is, himself, he formed a partnership with his 
has, by persistency and applic.at imi to brothers to o]-ierate a machine shop, under 
his chosen vocation, forged to the fr(.nt luitil t he lirm name of Montgomery Hrothers. This 
he is now- one of the best known .-iiid capable was done in IS'.H. 'i\\-o ycai's later the con- 
contractors and builders in the Cit\-. Main- cern was consolidali'il with the .Moline 



158 



HISTORIC ROCK IS L A N D CO U N T Y 



Elevator Company, ami Mr, .Mdiit^iinmery has 
been actively connected with this lirm since. 
He has had charjie of the outside construc- 
tion of the company and as superintendent 
of the erection of elevators, operating in 
nearly every city of any size in the United 
States and Canada. In addition to his hold- 
ings in this particular factory Mr. Mont- 
gomery was one of those interested in the 
Deere-Clark Motor Car Com])any, and holds 
stock in the Moline Automobile Company, 
Root & Vandervoort Engineering Company, 
and the American Harvester Comijany. He 
has also extensive land holdings at Alberta, 
Canada. 

In politics Mr. ^lontgomery is a Republi- 
can. He joined the United Presbyterian 
Church of Rock Island in 1SS3 and trans- 
ferred his membership to the Moline Chiu-cli 
when the latter was formed in 1898. 

Our subject married, October 24, 1893, 
Lillie R. Matthews, the nuptials being cele- 
brated at McPherson, Kansas. Mrs. Mont- 
gomery was the daughter of Samuel and 
Rose Matthews, pioneer settlers of Scott 
County, Iowa. They Yixed on a large farm 
near Davenport, when the father's ill health 
compelled his retirement, and eventually the 
reni<)\'al of the family to Mcl'herson, where 
he died in A|)ril, 1894. tlu'pe years after 
leaving Scott Comity. Mrs. .Matthews came 
from McPherson two years ago to live in 
Moline. Mrs. Montgomery was educated in 
the Davenjiort juiljlic schools, graduating 
from the high school. She has borne her 
husl)aii(l two children: Royal Ewert, aged 
eleven, and Margaret Rose, aged nine 
years. 

Sg ss « 

ALEXANDER OWENS. 

JUNE 17, 18.30, near Belfast, Ireland, the 
subject of this sketch was born. He was 
tlie son of Archibald and Mary (McMaster) 
Owens, both lifelong residents of the Emer.ald 
Isle. Their children were Jane, Mary, Alex- 



ander, Margaret, Anna, William and ,Jennie, 
all cif whom became citizens of the United 
States, and all of whom, with the exception 
of Jennie and the subject of this review, are 
now deceased. Alexander came to America 
when but sixteen years of age and settled at 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. There he earned 
the carpenter's trade, which he has followed 
the greater part of his life. At Pittsburg, 
October 15, 1852, he married Miss Helen 
Wyman, a native of New York, born January 
31, 1834. She was the daug.hter of Moses C. 
and Ann (Lamb) Wyman. A year after his 
marriage Mr. Owens removed to Cleveland, 
Ohio, where he followed his trade for three 
years, at the end of that time becoming a 
resident of Rock Island, Illinois. In the 
Sjjring of 1857 he settled in the Village of 
Milan, then a thriving young manufacturing 
jilace, and has made this his home since, with 
tlie cxcei)tion of two years sjjent in Cali- 
fornia. 

After coming to Milan .Mr. Owens engaged 
extensively as a builder and contractor, 
operating in Rock Island, Mercer and Henry 
Counties. In 1891 he was ai)])ointed master 
carpenter on the western section of the 
Illinois and Mississi]i]ii Canal, which was 
begun at that time. Mr. Owens first had 
charge of the carjienter work on the locks 
and gates anil of the erection of the houses 
on the western part of the canal. When 
this work was done he was appointed overseer 
for this ]3art of the waterway, and he has held 
this position ever since, serving with great 
success. 

Mr. and Mrs. Owens became the parents of 
seven children: Anna L.. William A. (de- 
ceased), (Charles C, Jennie, Helen, Elizabeth 
B., and Emma A. Mr. Owens is a Republi- 
can and has been honored with various 
offices. He served ■ as supervisor of Black 
Hawk Township two terms and as president 
of the Milan Village Board eight terms. He 
is a Mason and he and his wife liold meml)er- 
shi)) in the Presbj^terian Church. 




SAMUEL S. GUYKR. 



// / .S' r O R I C R C K 1 S L A N D C U N T Y 159 

unM CAA/iiici e ^i ivcD 111 1S71 he was elected . Indite (if the County 

HON. SAMUEL S. OUYER. (-'.un-t and re-elected in 1S7:1 

Tin; 1I()\()1;AP,1,I-; SAMll-:!. S. CrVl'Mi He was married June 'A 1n47, to Annette 

was lidrii :il Lewislown. Pennsyl\-aiiia. Ilulmes. dauiiliter nf the lale (.le(ir.i!;e h'.. 

Deceiulier "Jlj, 1814. In his early man- Holmes, of I'nvt Hyron, wlio, together with 

hood he was a contractor in New York City his s<in. I'Idward H. Clnyer, and his daughter, 

and ill I he construction of the I'ennsyhania Annette, now .Mrs. James li. Kimfjall, sur- 

Canal System. ]ii 1S3U, with his mother, ^■ived liiin. 

sister and two hrothers. he renio\eil to He died at Kock Islantl, Fcliruary 20, 1 NS.'J. 

I'eiiria, Illinois, from which hase he en.iia.i^ed SS 5g Sg 
in the Ijiisiness of Imildin.n Hat hoats and 
carryin.i; cargos of merchandise to ti'ade with 

the ]ilanters lietween Natchez and .\e\\ ■^^()l\.\ in (iermany and liroii.nht to .\mei'ica 



FREDERICK C. LIEKEFETT. 



the ]ilanters hetween Natchez and .New ■^()1(.\ m ( iermany and liroii.nlit to .Ainenca 
Orleans. In the great tornado at Natchez ^ l>\- his parents at a tender ago, the sub- 
in 1S42, lie lost all his jiossessions and liarely jei't of this sketch is one of the many 
escapeil with his life. Met urn in,;;' to Peoria (icrman-.'^mericans who has maile his mark 
he studied law and ((ualihed for the liar in in Rock Ishmd t'ounty. His birth and early 
the ollice of .Mr. Knowlton, father of mir trainin.g started him aright and he has liewed 
former ti iwnsiiian , \\ illiam S. Know lion. In to I he line and become one of the most pros- 
1S4.') he came lo Rock Island to pracfice his ]ierous aiul snljstantial citizens of the com- 
profession. nnmity. Mr. Liekefett's native pro\ince was 

He was ap|iointed bv the Court to ilcfcnd Ilannxcr, where he first saw the light Novem- 

the Redings, inilictc<.l for complicity in the ber '_'S, 1S4,S, The juirents from whom he 

murder of George l)aven]iort, and he sue- descended were Franz and Christina (Cill- 

ceeded in securing their accpiilt.al. In I.SI7 macher) hiekefett, who came to the I'liilcd 

he was elected Sheriff of Rock Island Cmmly, States in IS.5.5, first settling .at St. Louis. 

wliich office he held for two terms. ^lissoiiri. Here they remained but a sluirt 

He was one of the incorpurators nf the time, reuuniiig to near Ivist. St. bonis and 

Coal \'alley Mining Company, and (if tlie taking up farmiiig. ,\ftei- two years they 

Rock Island and Peoria Railway ('(Uiip.iuy. came to Pock Isl.'ind and the husband and 

which load, then built only as far as Coal father, being a tailor b\' trade, followed that 

\alley. was under his management until iNlil occupation for two years. .\t the end of that 

when he sold his interests to the late P. I,. ])erio(l, satisfied that there were greater 

Cable, In this enterprise he had been oppoiM unities on the farm than in the shop, 

associate(l witli Charles Piiford. Holmes -Mr. Liekefett piircliased land in Pxiwling 

Hakes, N. H. Ruford and Hen H.arper, Township and settled thereon. Some years 

He secured the charter for the Chippiaiiiiock later this properly was (lispose(l of and the 

Cemeterv Association, of which he was a farm in Black Ilnwk that the couple occiipie(l 

director until his death. till dealli and on which the subject of this 

.After disposing of his mining and r.-iilroad review now resides, secured, 

'nterests he became a member of the liriii of PriMlerick C. hiekefett was marrie(l in li(i(d< 

Hakes, Guyer il- Comjiany, in the opei-,'iti(Ui Island ("(uinty December P), lS7(i, his wife's 

of a paper mill on tlie present site of the maiden name being .Maria Simser. She was 

Standard Oil Cloth ('(Uiipany. This mill was liorn in this County .\(U'ember 7. 1 S.-iS, the 

several years afterwards bought by .Mi'. daughter of Henry and Mary ( Primer) Simser. 

Hakes and moNcd to Rock i;i\er. earl\- settlers. .Mr. and .Mrs. Liekefett have 



160 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



been blessed with the riilliiwing chihlren: 
Mary C. l)orn August 12, 1S80, now the wife 
of Carl Uelshouse of this County; Chirencc F.. 
born March 28, 1883; Elizabeth E., burn 
March 28, 1886; Sadie E., born November 
21, 1889, and Herman L., born October 12, 
1892. 

Jlr. Liekefett after his marriage settled on 
the home farm and still resides there. He 
owns four iiundred acres of fine and well 
improved land and is accounted one of the 
progressive and influential citizens of the 
County. He and his wife are members of 
the Methodist Church. 

n n ^ 
JAMES BRACKETT. 

JAME8 ERACKETT, a prominent lawyer 
of Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New- 
York, who graduated in the class with 
Daniel Webster, at Dartsmouth College, came 
to Rock Island in 1847 to spend the last years 
of a long and useful life. 

John Ely Brackett, eldest son of .James 
Brackett, graduated from West Point and 
later was appointed a I>ieuteiiaiit in the 
Second Regiment of Artillery. Later he 
became a Captain in Colonel Stevenson's 
Regiment, which was to sail for California to 
serve during the war with Me.xico, and after- 
wards, as Major-General John Ely Brackett, 
was very active during the troublous Cali- 
fornia days in 1849, and is nutch lauded in 
the annals of that State. He died in Rock 
Island some years later. 

Joseph Warren Brackett, second son of 
James Brackett, was appointed midshipman 
in the navy, at the age of fifteen, in 1830, 
from which he resigned four years later. In 
IN-IO he was admitted to the bar of New 
York, and ]iractiscd nine years in Cherry 
Valley, his birtiiplace. lie then went to 
Rock Island, where he remained till his death. 
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Colonel 
Brackett joined the Ninth Illinois Cavalry, 
and was appointed successively Battalion 



(Quartermaster and Regimental Commissary. 
This Regiment made a record second to none 
in brilliancy and secured the special thanks 
of Cieneral Curtis and Thoiuas. He was a 
member of the John Buford Post, No. 243, 
Grand Army of the Repul;>lic. and one of its 
Post Commanders. He died at the age of 
79, and was born January 19, 1815, in Cherry 
Valley, New York. 

William Brackett, fourth son of James 
Brackett, was born in Cherry Valley, New 
York, in 1820. He was educated at Harvard 
College and Harvard Law School. He went 
to Rock Island in 1848, moved to Chicago in 
1852, where he practised law until 1874. He 
was an excellent wTiter, having a style clear, 
pure and classical, and was a charming com- 
panion. He died in Chicago June 14, 1888. 

Doctor James W. Brackett, third son of 
James Brackett, was born in Cherry A^alley, 
New York, October 8, 1816, ami came to 
Rock Island in 1846. When the Civil War 
broke out Doctor Brackett was appointed 
surgeon to the Ninth Illinois Cavalry. In 
1863 he became a contract surgeon at the 
United States military priscm on the Island 
of Rock Island. He died at Rochester, 
Indiana, and was l)uried at Chippiannock 
Cemetery, March 25, 1886. 

Albert Gallatin Brackett, the youngest of 
James Brackett's seven sons, was born in 
Cherry \'alley. New York, February 14, 1829. 
In June, 1847, he became First Lieutenant 
in the Fourth Indiana Volunteers. He par- 
ticipated in a number of battles in the Mexican 
War, and was honorably discharged at its 
close. He then went to Rock Island where 
he lived till March 3, 1855, when he was 
appointed Captain in the Second Regiment 
of United States Cavalry and sent to Texas 
to fight the Indians. When the Civil War 
broke out he became Colonel of the Ninth 
Illinois Cavalry. July 17, 1862, he was made 
Major in (lie I'irst Cavalry, Regular Army, 
and sent to tlie Department of the Missouri. 
\\\ January, 1864, he was placed in command 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY Kil 

III' llic Sci-(iii(| r,iiL;ail(' 111' llic {'a\ali'y ] )i\isii)n, icrrixtMl tlu' aiipuiiil iiiont as postmaster of 

Sixicciitli Army Coi-ps. ami in .Iul\- of tlic Milan and lias sinre discliarjied the duties oF 

sann' year was a|i|Hiinted Aclini: Ins|iector- lliat (dfice to the satisfaetion of all. In 

(ienei'al ol Ca'.alry foi' the Cax'alrv Hureau, addit ion- he engajjes e\tensi\-elv in the insui'- 

Ai-niy of the ('iind)t'iland. Onrini; the next ance business and is owner of tli(> old Little 

thirteen years, as Colonel of the Third Viw- homestead in IJowJimj,, one himdred and 

airy, he was en^a^ed in ronslant campaignin,!; ei.iiiity acres of well improved land. 

a.nainst the Indians. lie died in Washington .\lr. Little was mai'ried in Hock Island 

and was liuried at Arlington witli military ('(umfy Uetoljcr 27. LSSli, to Miss Harriet 

li"iii)rs. Zalin, also a native of the County. She was 

ji! m ii? horn August 21, 1866, the daughter of Phillip 

Dr^DCD-r c I i-r-ri ir =""' Harriet (Orth) Zahn. 
KUdlK. 1 t. LI I 1 Lt. I) lu; n at i-,*i nv <- -.i *i 

rolitically, .Mr. Little alliliates with the 

R()1!1M;T 1'^. L ITT LI''/, for ten years post- RepuLlic'an part\- and is active in the councils 

master c^f the \'illage of Milan, is one of of that organization. He was County com- 

the successful nati\'e sons of the County. mitleeman in l.S!l()-',i7. Among the ollices he 

He was horn on a farm in Howling Township has held are those of highway commissioner 

May 22, 1N61. His parents. William and of l)o\\Iing and clei'k of Hlack Hawk. 
I'^lizaLeth (Kea) Little, wcii' Loth of Irish l''i-ateriially the sniijecf of this sketch is a 

birth, the former's natal day being December niembci- of the .Masonic cjrder, the Court of 

7. ISL"). and the hitter's August 16. LSI!). Honor, and the l*]astern St.ar, his wife also 

They were married in thcii' nati\e land ami holding membership in the last named, 
iniiiiigi'ated to America and to Hock Isl.and jg 5J3 jjg 

County in 1S44. The fai ui on which they nniin A Q F HAM 

settled and whi.'h they occupied till death UUUOLAi t. HALL. 

w:is entei-ed by them fi'om the Co\ernment. 'V"\ /■/ 11 1 Ll{! not ;i long lime resident of Rock 
^b■. Little passed awa\- .August (i. ISdl. his y^ Island County, the suli.ject of this 
wife lia\ing |)receded him to the beyoml sketch is a nati\-e of Illinois, son of 

September 12. 1NS4. Theii- children are: pi(uieers of the State, and is descended fi-om 

Margaret ('.. w ife of (.). C. Wells, of Hruning, an ancestry that has p.arl ici])ated in all the 

Nebraska: -Ann .1., widow of .\rthur (.)'\eal, w .-us that the Lnited Slates has waged. .\lr. 

of Milan: l''rancis A., of Conw.-iy S|)rings, Hall was born in Menard County April 6, 

Kansas: .Mary 1... wiilow of Hobert Klliott, IStil. his pai'ents being .Lames 1'. and Mary 

of Conwa>- Springs: William H.. of ('ushing, .1. (Pierce) Hall. His Lather was boin in 

Oklahcuna: l)a\id T.. of Conway Springs; Lawrence Couiit\-. Ohio. .Iul\- I. IMS. ami 

I'Aaline !'>.. wife of William L. Heath, of his mother in Sangamon C(jmit\-. Illinois, 

Davenport. Iowa: and Hobci't Iv, the subject .\ngust 16, ISHI). .lames P. Hall was a son 

of this re\iew\ of I'llisha Hall, a iiati\-e of Hedford Counl\- 

The last named recei\ed his e.arly training \ii-ginia. and a descendant (/f the eai'ly pio- 

on the fai'in. being e<lnc.-iled in the public neei's \yho settled in Ihat State long befcu'e 

schools and at the Dixon Pusiness College. the He\'olutiouary War. I'^isha Hall marrieil 

H(> continued to make the farm his home till Nancy Overstreel, also born in Hedhu-d 

1S!)2, when he removed to Milan and took a County and of pioneer ancestry. Her father, 

|)osition as salesman in the hardware store of John (Jverstreet, was ;\ Hevolntionary soldier 

his brother-in-law. Phil !■'. Zahn. remaining under (ieneral Washington, .and ]>articii)ated 

there three years. July 7. 1S'.)7. .Mr. Little in the battles of the Cow Pens, Braiidvwinc 



162 



HISTORIC no C K ISLAND COUNTY 



aiul Moiiiiioiitli. ;mi<iii,i;' ethers, and was at 
the siege of Y()rkto\\ii, when Lcird Cornwallis 
was forced to surrender. During the War 
of 1812, Elisha Hall, his son-in-law, was 
drafted, and being the father of a large family 
who needed his support, he offered $100 for a 
substitute. Mr. Overstreet accepted the offer 
and. though well advanced in years, again 
bore arms against the liritish. 

Elisha Hall, in an early day, settled iu 
Lawrence County, Ohio, where he resided 
till the fall of 1826. Then, with his family, 
he removed to what is now Menard County, 
then Sangamon County, Illinois. He settled 
on a farm near Athens, passing the remainder 
of his days there and going to his reward in 
1838. His wife survived till 1862. James 
P. Hall, son of Elisha and father of our sub- 
ject, was a lifelong resident of Menard 
County, passing away there October 11, 1892, 
his wife following September 21, 1905. The 
latter was a daughter of Charles and Malinda 
(Anderson) Pierce, natives respectively of 
Tennessee and Kentucky, who settled in 
Sangamon County in 1825. Charles Pierce 
was First Lieutenant in Aliraham IJncoln's 
Company during the Black Hawk War and 
camjiaigned through Rock Island County at 
that time. To .James P. Hall and wife 
fourteen children were born, seven surviving. 
They are Charles W., Emma, Caroline, Rosa, 
Laura ,L. Douglas E. and Mollie. 

Douglas E. Hall was reared on a farm in 
Menard County, receiving a limited educalinu 
in the public schools. Later in life he em- 
braced every o]iportunity to overcome his 
lack of advantages early in life and is now a 
fair type of what is known as the self-made 
man. After reaching his majority he traveled 
extensively for two years tln'ough the west 
and siinth. On returning he took charge of 
(he old iiouieste;id anil conductcHJ it till his 
father's death. In 1904 he came to Rock 
Island County and purchased a farm on Hig 
Island, just outside the coi-poi-ate limits of 
the Village of Milan. He owns three luuidred 



and thirty-seven acres of highly iiroductive 
land and has become recognized as one of the 
substantial farmers of the community. Mr. 
Hall is not married. 

^ i^ 58 

JOHN H. WILSON, 

JOHN H. WILSON has been a constant 
factor in the upbuilding of the Cities of 
Rock Island and Moline for half a century- 
As i)resident of the Wilson Moline Buggy 
Com]iany and in other business enterprises in 
which he has engaged since coming to this 
community in 1856 he has given employment 
to many men and has directed their energies 
into channels that have brought adequate re- 
wards to themselves, to their employers and to 
the cities in which they have lived and labored. 

Like many another of the substantial early 
residents of Rock Island County, Mr. Wilson 
is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born 
in Mercer County. His parents and grand- 
t-iarents were tillers of the soil and established 
one of those elegant old homesteads which 
excite the admiration of visitors to the Key- 
stone State nowadays, and which exert a 
]iowerful infhience in drawing the absent sons 
home from time to time to renew the associa- 
tions of their childhood. Mr. Wilson often 
goes back to the old farm home built over 
eighty years ago, but still in a ])erfect state of 
l)reservation. 

During his youth the subject of this sketch 
attended the public schools, and when al)out 
eighteen years of age took a covu'se at Alle- 
ghany College at Meadville, Penn.sylvania. 
For several years afterward he worked on his 
father's farm in summer and taught school 
in winter. Subsecpicntly he engaged in 
general merchantlising at Clarksville, Penn- 
sylvania, and as he accunuilated property 
became interested in coal mining, a business- 
that he followed to some extent after coming 
west. 

I'roni coal Ml'. Wilson turned to oil, investing 
in a territor\- on the Ohio and Pennsylvania 



// / S T RI C RO C K ISLAND CO U N T Y 



163 



line in wiiicli se\eral fi(i\\in,i; wells were 
developed. With rai'o business foresight he 
sold his holdiniis at a i'avoral)lo opportunity 
to Philadelphia |)ai'ties and renio\ed to Hock 
TslaniL That was in ISoli, and he has made 
his home hei-e since. Conserx'at i\'e in his 
business hahits he has met with nuil'ui'm 
success in his \arious ventures. 

i\Ir. Wilson was united in marriage witli 
Miss Susanna A. Hoxie in I'h'ie County, I'enn- 
syhania, in IS.")(I. 'rhre(> chililren were hoiai 
of this nnicui. Clara ,1., is the wife of (ieorf;e 
W. Krel zin,t;er, an attorney of Chica.^'o; Mary 
K., is the wife of F. A. Head; and Nettie, is 
the wife of W. A. Ross. i\Irs. Wilson died 
in 18S2, and two years later Mr. Wilson 
married Mrs. Ella Case, daughter of Mar\-in 
Case, of Greenville, Pennsylvania, and witlow 
of the late Dr. Case, of Chicago. 

Mr. \\'ilson alliliates with the Hepuhlican 
l)arty. 

5g 5S K 

HENRY E. BROWN. 

Ml!. Hi:XRV E. BROWN was horn ami 
t'clucatetl in Elmwood, Peoria County, 
Illinois, until his sixteenth year when 
he moved to Peoria and entered the high 
school, afterwards entering firinnell College 
in (irinnell, Iowa, from which he graduated 
in 1,S99, with the degree of Pachelor of Physics. 

Since then he lias heen connectetl with the 
Rock Island Public Schools, starting as a 
teacher and five years ago becoming principal 
of the high school. 

Mr. Rrown has always been greatly inter- 
ested in all educational matters and has 
received much recognition for his interest by 
edticational associations. He is at the present 
time ]iresi(lent of tlie Western Section of the 
Northern Illinois Teachers' Association. He 
is also author of a text book which has had a 
very wide sale among the schools of thecciuntry. 

Mr. Brown is at ijresent thirty-five years 
(dd, and was married in HM)6 to Miss Bertlia, 
Ilaiina 



GEORGE LOUOHEAD EYSTER, M, D. 

AMONCi Rock Island physicians none have 
a widei' practice of a more successful one 
than the subject of this sketch. Doctor 
(ieorge 1.. l">yster, oiu' of that city's old 
est.ablishcil niid prominent physicians and 
surgeons. 

He was boi'ii .May 14, 1S.5)5, at Chanibers- 
l)urg, Pennsylvania, liis jiarents being William 
1''. and Lucretia ((libson) Eyster. His father 
was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother 
of \'eriuont. His father's family was of 
Cerman origin, the Eysters Ijeing among the 
early settlers in the colony of Pennsylvania. 
Doctor l\vster's father was for nuiny years a 
clergyman of tlie I>utheran Church, hieing 
also engagetl in tlu' educa.tional work of that 
church. For some years he was |)resident of 
the Hagerstown Female Semimiry, a Lutheran 
educational institution located in Maryland. 
In ls7(i he came to Hock Islaiul, w^here for 
ten years he occupied tiie chair of English 
Literature at Augustana College. He after- 
ward removed t<i Crete, Nebraska, where he 
li\'ed a retired life. 

After the remo^-al of the I'lyster family to 
Mai'vland, wliei'e the subject of this sketch 
received a public school and academic educa- 
tion, fitting himself to enter Pennsylvania 
College, an institution from which he grad- 
uated in 1,S71. He then entered the medical 
scho(d of the University of Penn.sylvania., and 
tln-ee years later he graduated. One year 
later he began the practice of his profession 
in Neliraska, Imt in 1876 he removed to Rock 
Island, which City has been his home ever 
since. 

Doctor Eyster's ability and skill both in 
the practice of meilicine and surgery was 
recogiuzed early in his jjrofessional life, and 
his practice has been a constantly increasing 
one. He is a mend)er of the staff of St. 
.Vnthony's Hospital, was County Physician 
of Ho(dv Island County for about ten years, 
and for six \ears was Health Ccunmissioner 



164 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



in the ("ity of Rock Island. He is a member of 
several leading' medical associations, among 
them being the American Medical Association, 
the American Public Health Association, the 
Illinois State Medical Society, and the Iowa 
and Illinois Central District Medical Associa- 
tion. He is also a member of the Rock Island 
County ^ledical Society, and from time to 
time has held several offices in that Society, 
and has contributed many valuable jiapers at 
its meetings. 

P>bruary 17, 1876, Doctor Eyster was 
joined in marriage to Miss Fannie P. Wright, 
a daughter of John K. Wright of Philadelphia. 
Both the Doctor and his wife are jironiinent 
in the society circles of the tri-cities and 
frequently entertain. The Doctor is a genial 
host and his wife a charming hostess. 

In politics Doctor Eyster has always been 
a Repul)lican. and although luuing no dis- 
position or time to engage in active conquest 
in the |)olitical arena he has been the reciiiient 
of severa' aii])ointive olKces already mentioned 
requiring a s])ecialist along medical lines. 
These he filled ably and with credit. I-'ra- 
ternally Doctor Eyster is connected with the 
Masons, the Knights of Pythias ami the 
.Modern Woodmen of America. In his cf)llege 
days he was connected with the Si(/niii VJil. 
a Greek letter fraternity of national scope. 

He is one of Rock Island's best citizens, a 
man who enjoys the regard and respect of all 
who have ever had occasion to call him in a 
professional cajjacity as well as many others 
of his friends and ac(|uaintances who know 
him to lie a generous, kindly man. 

'0: 'P. n 
EmER E. MORGAN. 

EI.MMP. K. M()R(!AX is a liiu-al desc( nd:int 
of (Icneral .Moi'gan of rcxnlutionary fame. 
His grandfather, Isaac Morgan, was Ijorn 
in Kentucky in l.S7()jind fought in the War 
of 1,SP2. Later lie built the first slab house 
at what is now Dayton, Ohio. He came to 
Davenport in 1S36. Isaac F. Morgan, father 



of Elmer ^lorgan, grew to manhood in the 
vicinity of Davenjiort. married .Sarah E. 
Williams, a Tennessee lady, and settled near 
DeWitt, Clinton County, Iowa. There the 
subject of this sketch was born September 13, 
1861. His early life was spent on his father's 
farm and his op]iortunities for schooling were 
few. In later life by consistent. ]iainstaking 
study, he obtained an excellent education, and 
one which he was able to tvn-n to practical 
account. 

At the age of twenty-three Mr. Morgan 
sought wider fields of endeavor and took up 
his residence in .Mdline, tlien jtist beginning 
to show promise of becoming a great manu- 
factiu'ing city. He began reading law in the 
office of William A. Meese and soon there- 
after o])ened a collection agency, which he 
still conducts and which is the oldest one in 
this jiart of the State. 

Mr. Morgan has traveled extensively in the 
United States ami Eurojie. In 1896 he toured 
France. Holland and tlic Hritish Isles (ui a 
bicycle. He was one of the fomiders of the 
I'nitarian Church in Moline and remains a 
leading member of that institution. Politi- 
cally he is a Republican and exerts consider- 
al)le influence in the party. He is a member 
of Doi'ic Lodge. Ancient, Free and Accejjfed 
Masons; the Eastern Star; Beiievolent ami 
Protective Order of Elks; Knights of Pythias; 
Select Kniglits; .Modern Woddmcn and Home 
[''oruin. 

m n n 
HON. JOHN T. BROWNING. 

THE oldest member of the Hock Island 
County Par, a lawyer of I'ipe le.-irnirug 
and wide experience, who has now re- 
tired from the active |)ractice of his ]irofession, 
is the Hi nirable .lohn T. Hrowning. of .Moline. 
He was born in Genesee County, New York, 
.June 11. 1830. his parents being John L. an 1 
Lucy (TiUolson) drowning. He receixcd :ni 
academic educaticui at Rochester, where later he 
was admitted to the bar in tlie Autumn of KS.'iS. 



// / S T RI C RU C K I S LAND C O U N T Y 



lo.- 



He came west in December of that same 
year and located at Moline, where he imme- 
diately enfiaji'ed in the jjractice of law, Ijeinfj; 
that city's hrst City Attorney. (.)f course 
one of his duties in this position was to com- 
pile and arrann'e a code of ordinances fiovern- 
iWi the affairs of the City, and this work was 
done in a hiffhly creditable and systematic 
manner. In 1.S7G he formed a law jiartnei-- 
shi]i with Mr. Entriken, the well kn iwii 
Moline attorney who has served this County 
as State's .Attorney and Master in Chancery. 
tlie firm heinij; known as Rrowninii it I'Jutri- 
ken. '^Fwii years pre\'ious to the foi'iuaf inn 
of this parlnei'ship .Mr. Browning hml liccn 
elected to represent this Senatorial District 
in the Illinois (ieneral Assembly. lie was 
re-elected in 1S76 and served through aiiilhei' 
session of the l.ejiislature. 

During Mr. Hrownin<;'s youn"; manhood he 
entertained \-ery [jronounced anti-sla\'('i-y 
views and was in fact an ardent Abolitionist. 
Upon the formation of the Re])ublican |>ai-ty 
in 1856 he immediately allied himself with 
that organization and was earnest in his 
support of Fremont and Dayton. Since that 
time he has continued in his allegiance to the 
Republican party and while zealous in its 
support and a firm believer in its policies he 
has always been conservative, considering the 
welfare of the country and the cause of good 
government of far gi'eatei- importance than 
mere party success. 

He was engaged in the famous contro\'ersy 
between the rivei' and railroad interests o\-er 
the construction of the bridge acros.s the 
iMississip])i here at Rock Island. In this 
controversy some of the most eminent legal 
talent in Illinois part icipat('(l, among whom 
was .\iirahain Lincoln. 

Mr. i'lrowinng, as has been stated, has now 
retired from acli\-e practice of law. He now 
makes his home on a fine farm th.at he owns 
outside the City of .Moline. He still takes an 
active interest in public affaii's and is an 
extremely well informed man upon all Ihc 



pertinent ipiestions of the day. He has, 
during his professional career, Ijeen a great 
student, and as a councelor he had no super- 
ioi- in Moline. It was to this branch of legal 
work that he gave his chief attention, I'ather 
than to the more exciting life of a trial lawyer. 
Mr. llrowning has alw;iys been a liberal and 
generous contriljutor to charitable and phil- 
.•inthropic movements, and as a man and a 
lawyer he is helil in high esteem b\- all who 
know him. 

W> U sK. 

MARTIN THEODORE RUDGREN. 

E\ I'lX in an age which recognizes young 
men and places responsibilities upon 
them which in the i)ast have been laid 
only upon the sluuddei's of those of more 
mature years we selilom find one of twentv- 
eight years entruste<l with the complex 
details <if the business enil of the administi'a- 
tion of a City of .'id, 1)00 iidiabitants. Such, 
however, is the C(uitidence ])laced in .Martin 
'!'. Uudgren by the people of the ('ity of Rock 
isl.Mud that they elected him City Cleik when 
he had barely passed his twenty-eighth mile- 
stoiu', and that Iiy an om'I'w helming majority. 
Kvents have shown th.at the trust was well 
merited. 

.Mr. liudgrcn was born in Hock Island 
.\pi-il 7, l.S7il. Ilis parents. Carl ,J. and 
Christina \\'. Kudgren, were botli l)orn in 
Swcilen, the former June 22, 1S3G, in Verm- 
land, and the latter March l.S, 1S,'"),S, in 
Ostergotland. The fatliei' came to Rock 
Isl.-uul in l.SliS. .Vftei- .-I year he went to 
.Moline and nuide his luune in that City seven 
yeai-s. Then he retui'necl to Hock Island, 
anil lias resided there since. .Mr. and .Mi's. 
Hudgren's marriage to<ik place .Mai'ch 14, 
1S7n. In addition to the subj(>et of this 
sketch they had one sou. Cai'l l.udwig, who 
was born .lanuary 2S, ISSl, ,-111(1 died .June 
14 of the same \-e;ir. .Mrs. Hudgi'en dieil 
I'ebi'iiary 4. 1 SM . Mi\ liiidgren is now 
retiicil and is cared for b\- his .son. 



166 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Martin attended the public schools of Rock 
Island, and after graduating obtained a 
commercial education at Augustana Business 
College and the Gustus School of Business in 
Moline. Then he set out to make his own 
way. In this he was somewhat handicajiped 
by an accident which maimed him,]icrma- 
nently. When eight years old he was injured 
by being thrown from a sled so that the 
removal of the right hip joint became neces- 
sary. From this time on the use of crutches 
was required, but so well did Mr. Rudgren 
learn to handle himself that his handicap 
after all proved to be but a slight one. 

Mr. Rudgren was first eui ployed in the 
office of an implement factory in Moline, 
where he remained two years. Resigning at 
the end of this ]ieriod he accepted a position 
with a Rock Island manufacturer, retaining 
it till the Winter of 1904-05. Then he 
resi.gned to take up the duties'of tax collector 
for Rock Island, an office to which he hatl 
been elected in April, 1904. He served with 
s\ich entire satisfaction that his successor the 
following year detailed him to again collect 
the taxes for the township. In the Spring 
of 1907 H. ('. Schaffer declined renoniination 
for the office of City Clerk, and Mr. Rudgren 's 
Reptdilica'n friends saw in him a suitable man 
for the place. They urged him to make the race 
and he did, with the result that he defeated 
his opponent l)y a majority of over 1600 votes. 
He took up the duties of office in May, 1907. 

Mr. Rudgren is an active member of the 
First Swedish Lutheran Church of Rock 
Island and a leader in young people's work. 
His political affiliations have always been 
with the Heimblican party. He is unmarried. 

M m ^ 

THOMAS IMESSLER. 

THOMAS NESSLER is one of Hock Isl- 
and's well and favorably kmiwii Ger- 
man-.'Vmerican citizens, where he occu- 
pies the ])<isition of brew master for the Rock 
I.sland lirew inn Companv. 



He was born December 18, 1869, at Obern- 
hibeim. Germany, his parents being Donatus 
and Barbina Xessler. After completing a 
common school course in his native land he 
entered a brewing academy at ^'ersuchs 
Statum, Germany, and there received instruc- 
tion in the trade which he expected to follow 
throughout his life, having previously servefl 
two years apjjrenticeship in .\ldvisebach, 
Germany. After being employed for several 
years in breweries of Germany, he came to 
the Unitejl States in 1892. and later came to 
Chicago, where from 1898 to 1899 he took 
an advanced course in the art of lirew- 
ing in Wahl ct Henius Institute in that 
City. 

In 1892, upon locating in Chicago, he was 
connected with Joseph Junk's brewery for 
three years, then with the Standard Brewing 
Company for three years and for one year 
was with Walker A: Burke Brewing Company 
of the same city. Then, after completing his 
course at W^ahl A: Henius Institute, he re- 
moved to Danville, where he was brew master 
f(u- the Danville Brewing & Ice Company, 
which jiosition he held until 1901, when he 
came to Rock Island to accept a position as 
brew master for the Rock Island Brewing 
Com]iany. which position he now holds. 
During his connection with the Rock Island 
Brewing Comjiany he has devoted his knowl- 
edge and energy to increasing the excellency 
of that company's i)roduct and how well he 
has sticceeded is attested by that comjiany's 
constantly increasing patronage. 

September 15, 1894, Mr, Xessler was 
married to iliss Katherine Dimer, and to 
them one child has been born, a daughter, 
Katherine B. Nessler. 

Mr. Nessler is a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, having joined that 
fraternal organization at Danville, Illinois, 
and being still affiliatoil with Lodge No. 499 
of that city. 

He is not alliliatcd with any of tlio regularly 
established political parties, b\it prefers to 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 167 



liive his su])])i)rt tci iiioii :iinl iiicnsiii-cs ratlici' his tiliiKi iiutlir, which \v:is in tliat year 

tiiau to any iidliticai ]iarly. ami (■(Uisciiiicnl ly [■cninxcil to 'i\)h'(hi, Idwa. Mr. i'x'al at tliis 

casts his vote indepcndtMitiy. liinc rcccix rtl a call lo the chair of pliysics 

He is a master of tlie art of Ih'cw iiii;. ami ami chcniisti'y of WCstci-n Colleiii" and 

constantly stri\'es to ser\e t he inlcrcsls of his acc('|il('(l ami lichl llial post tweh'C years. 

eni])loyers hy hringinji llieii- oiitpiil up lo a l'i('\ ioiisK , howcxcr. ho had i-cad law. luMiiii: 

stan<lard of perfection e.\celled by noni: and adinilleil to the l)ar in IS7'.». from 1S7() to 

eipialle(l liy few. IST'.l he acted as assistant to the pi'esideid of 

jg jg JS ''"' -^hiline Water I'ower Company. 

AIRCD-TM RCAl M !^ 1 la viii.ii decided t o fit himself for t he |)rac- 

ALBERT M. BEAL, M. D. ^-^.^^ „,. ,„,,iicine, Mr. I'.eal in 1S<.I0 began 

Till' technical education of the doctor of attending a reanlai' coui'se of lectnrcs in the 

medicine a\ails him but little mdess he Colleiic of Physicians and Snrijcons at Des- 

has laid a foundation for it of bro.ad .Ahiines. deli\-erinii at the same time; a course 

general knowleil.ue and made a cai'cful slud\' of lectures on clu'niistry and medical Latin, 

of human nature. When he toidc U]i tlu> During 1S!)1 and 1 S'.tl' he served as president 

practice of meilicine Doctor .\lbert M. lieal of ^^'esler^ College. In l.S'.tf he graduateil 

brought to the profession a mental (Mpiipment from the College of Physicians ami Surgeons, 

such as few men acquii-e in a lifetime. l''(u- He iinm(>diately li(\gaii practicing at Toledo, 

years he had been an edui-atoi', teaching the Iowa, but after a few months, in December, 

common branches in the public schools and 1S'.)4. h(> loc;ite(l in Moline, where he has 

later specializing in college. II;i\ing as a remained since, and wher(? ho Inis built U|i a 

student earned the degrees of iSacheloi- of large- practice. Doctoi- P>eal is a. member of 

.\rts and Master of .\rts. he Later found the Illinois and Iowa Central District Medical 

opportimity to perfect his knowledge of law Association and of the Illinois State M(>dical 

so that he was admitted to the bar after Association. 

succ(\ssfnlly passing the iirescribed examimi- At the age of sixteen Mr. Heal bei'ame a 

lion. With this ))re])aration the mysteries of member of the I'nitetl Hrethern Church. He 

meilicine ami surgery w i-i-e (piickly mastered served as supeianti'mlent of the lirelhei-n 

and success was his from t he lieginning of his Sunda\- School at Toledd fiu' some time, 

professional career. Since coming to .Moline he has biM-ome 

Doctor i'leal was bmai ( •ctobei' iJl . IS.").'i, in identiiied with the I'drst Coiigregat iinial 

ZuiiKi Townshi]!, Koidc Island County, His Chm-ch, lie has always been an ardent 

parents were Daniel X, and ]'>etsy (Speiu'er) Republican. Casting his first \ote for Ivuth- 

Keal. pioneers of the ctuumnnity. The son erford 1'.. Haves for President. While a 

attended the country schools and latei- the resident of Toledo he served three successive 

]iublic institutions of learning of Port l'.\i-ou terms as Mayor, resigidng on his remo\-al to 

and Pock Island. .\t the age of .se\ciiteeii Des.Moines. lie w.as the lii'sl clei-k of South 

he began teaching school at wh;it is now .Moline Township. Praternall.\- hi' .alliliales 

Parstow. He entered Western College of with the Knights of Pythias and the .Moilern 

Iowa when Ids prepai'ator\' studies had been Woodmen ol .\merica. 

completed, and graduated with the class of At .\ndalusia, Illinois, Octiiber '.\\, lS7tt, 

1S7(), taking the degree of Bachelor of .\rls. Doctor Heal married Miss Ktta Thompson, 

The following year he was princip.al of the (Laughter of Ilciny I., and Maiy (P>ul'tuni) 

Hampton, Illinois, schools. In 1N7'.I he Thompson. She died .\o\embei- 11, ISSd, 

rcceiveil the degree of Master of Arts from leaving one daughter, Matnie. .\ .sec(uid 



168 



II I ST RI C R C K ISLAND COUNT Y 



marriage was contiacted .laiuiary 1. 1S84, 
with ^liss Carrie K. Middel^auf, of Polo, 
Illintiis, a native of Ogle County. Five 
children resulted from the second alliance: 
Etta Crace. Daniel Middekauf, Altliea. Albert 
Milton, who died when one year old, and 
Walter Hubert. 

Jg S» Sg 

JOHN W. ROCHE; 

LITTLE woukl the visitor of today suspect 
that much of the western part of the City 
of Rock Island, now built up with modern 
homes, business houses and factories, was 
once an iminhal)itable swamp; worse than 
that, it was covered with water to a ii^reat 
extent, and when the MississijJiji was lii,sih a 
rapidly flowing stream ran through half the 
present length of the city, and skiffs, rafts 
and even steamboats passed over the very 
place where hmidreds now live and wcn'k on 
dry, firm mother cai'th the year arounil. The 
work of reclaiming this tract of land has been 
one of less than fifty years, and the jirocess 
has been a gradual one, full of hard work and 
patience on the part of those actively engaged. 
Among those who saw the jiossibilities of 
this |)art of the city and who laborcil long 
antl diligently for its improvement, none 
deserves gi-eater cretlit than the subject of 
this sketch. When he, in 1S7(), purchased 
his fir.st lot at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 
Twelfth Street, water stood ujion it at all 
seasons, varying in deplh from two to si.\ 
feet. Largely by hand labor he and his 
family filled it, and built a home there. Later 
they Ijought other lots till they owned two 
bln(d';s, which were gradually improved, and 
now are among the most valuable in the 
residence portion of the city. 

.lohn W. Roche was l)orn February 22, 
1S.'59. in County Waterford. Ireland, cele- 
bralcd for its fisheries. He was the eldest of 
three sons, his parents being Michael and 
Katherine (Power Roche. Tradition has it 
that the ancestors of the father came to 



Ii'cland from F^rance in the early part of the 
seventeenth century as soldiers and remained 
to fight for the island of their adoption. The 
]_iarents of our subject lived to an advanced 
age, the father reaching his ninety-seventh 
year and the mother her ninety-third. The 
son obtained a limited education in the 
national schools. One of his earliest recollec- 
tions is of incidents connected with the 
famine of 1846-47 when the potato cro]) 
failed. Mr. Roche came to America in 1866, 
and finally reached Wisconsin with fifty cents 
in his ])ocket. Here he worked two years in 
the lead mines at Shullsberg, having many 
interesting experineces, and learning, among 
other things, to ]ilay baseball, with the 
result that he has been an enthusiastic sup- 
porter of the national game ever since. 

At the end of two years the desire to obtain 
an education led Mr. Roche to go to Fon tlu 
Lac, where he tem])orarily took up railroad- 
ing. Seeing, however, a lietter opportunity 
for financial gain and mental imjirovement 
he soon left the road to become a book agent. 
Thus it was that he came to visit Rock 
Island. Mr. Roche relates that when he 
first thought of coming to the city he has 
helped build up he was advised by a veteran 
police magistrate of LaSalle. Illinois, where 
he happened to be, to avoid the place, on the 
ground that liiunan life and property were 
not safe there, his friend adding that three- 
foiu'ths of the criminals who had come before 
him were from Rock Island, .Apparently, the 
advice did not make a deep impression for in 
a short time our subject found himself in 
Rock Island, and so well ])leased was he that 
he at once decided that he woukl never settle 
elsewhere, A few months later, November, 
1869, he was married at Fulton. Illinois, to 
Miss Ellen Mulcahcy, and March 25, 1870, 
the couple came to Rock Island to stay. 

For ten years thereafter Mr. Roche con- 
tinued ill the book business and made a suc- 
cess of it . Then he emb.arked in other lines, 
amon.ii wiiich was life insurance, anil here 



// / S T RI C ROC K I S L A N D C O U NT Y 169 



asain ho demcnstrated his fitness, standing, when in isTd he enlisted in the Ordnance 

after two years, eleventh in |»iiiil nf Imsiness ('(ir]is of the I'nited States Army, anl was 

written, anu n^ two Ininilre(l a.ncnts of the assi.fneil for duly at Kocd'C Ishin 1 Arsenal. 

I'rudenlial Insnranee ('oinpany. In .Inly, Coniin: here wit h Captain Farley, who was 

1!)()(), Mr. Roche estaljlished the .Vnici-ican n*xt :n i-onini:in 1 at the Arstnd, wlien 

Steam f.anndry at the corner of l''ii'th Avenni- (General Ma.ulei- w as Comni: n hint. Mi-. Tliorn- 

and Twelfth Street, wliich he still owns ami t( n servecl (n the Islaml till ls;)4, when he 

operates. \\:is plared <iu ihe retired list as Sergeant, 

Mr. Roche has never helil piilijir olhce. after a total of thiitv vears of service, with 

Neither has he affiliated wifli any party. |iay of fort\- dollars per mc nth. 

jireferrin,!!,- to support the men wh lie After retirement from the service he 

believes Ht, rather than platforms full of secured a positi(n in I he shops at the Arsenal, 

glittering generalities. Uc is a faithful mem- whirh lie liejd up to the lime of his last illne.ss. 

her of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, M]-. Thoinnn was married to Martha J. 

and withal, a fine example of the self-made Mc nt.tiomery. d.aughter of the late and vcner- 

nian. able A. K, M( ntgomery, September 17, 1SS5. 

Eleven children have been born to Mr. .and Xo childi'cn were boin to them, and his 

Mrs. Roche. Four dieil in iid'aucy, Ihe others widow, ah ne, of all his relatives, so far as 

still surviving, known, survives him, 

jg SS Ss Mr. Thornton was a staunch Repidjlican, 

JOHN H. THORNTON. , alw-ays active m his party's intei-ests He 

served twD years as a member of the board 

MR. .JOHN H. THORNTON, velc-r.an of of Supervisors froiu South Mcdne Township, 

lh(> Civil War and for m;uiy years and also as sidiix I direclor in his district for 

employed in the (iovernmeni service several terms. lie w.as a member of the 

at Hock Island Arsenal, was born in lichmd Ancient Order of I'ldted Workmen, also of 

■lune 24. 1S47, and died at his home in Midiiie Graham Post. Cr; n 1 Arm\- of the Republic, 

,Iuly il, ]()().3, He was the son of Patrick and anl of H( n Pulterworlh Commani, Unirn 

.Mary Thornton and came to ,\merica with ^■eterans Fnicn, and at one time was a 

his parents while an infant, aged nine montlis. nieml.)er of the Select Knights of America. 

The motlier died in Itochesler, New ^■(nd<. His religiims allilial ii ns was with the I'nited 

after which Ihe father remo\(Nl lo Pliila- Presbyterian Church. Mr. Th(!rnton was a 

delphia, from which city, at the age of sixteen, ,i;-enial, w holc-s(Hile I man and left a host of 

yoi ng Tliointin enlisted. .July 26, 1862, in friends lo mimrn his tieath. 

Compfny Fifty-three. Twenty-Ninth Regi- >g jg jj;: 



mcnt. Pennsylvi.nia A'(dunteers, Third In- 
fantry. His Company was assigneil lo the 



MAURICE A. HOLLINOSWORTH. 



First Brigade, Sec( nd Divisicn, Twentieth IS^R. .MACHICi: .\. IK )ld.IN(;SWOirrH, 



M' 



Corjis, Army of the Potonnic. [ [ ■■' veterinary surge, m. now practicing his 

He was in numerous engagements, among profession in the City of R-ick Island, 

them may be named the Battle of Antietam, w,-is born December 111, IS72. at Cincinnati, 

Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Moun- Ohio, and has been a resident of Rock Island 

tain. Missienary Ridge and Zurmell Hill. for a number of years. 

In 186.5 he was hcnorably discharged and He is the son of .\braliam and Celestia S. 

returning to Philadelphia he followed the Hollingsworth, who ga\-e him an education 

arts of ]ieace foi' the succeeding li\(' years, in the Ontaido \'e|erinary College at Toronto, 



170 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Canada. After completing his studies there 
he took ii|) his residence in Rock Island and 
commenced the practice of his ]5rofessioii. 
wliich he has gradiialh' bttilt up so that he 
now ranks among the foremost of his pro- 
fession in this vicinity. 

It was not until 1904 that Doctor Hollings- 
wdi'th decided to wed, and on September 4 
of that year he married Miss Isabel J. Mc- 
Conochie, the charming and well known 
daughter of lv\-iIayor William McCouochie. 

Doctor Hollingsworth ranks high in his 
l)rofessi()n, and is well and favorably known 
throughout the County of Rock Island. 

m ^ m 
JOSIAH G. HECK. 

THE subject of this sketch. Josiali C. 
Heck, of Moline, was born in Harrison 
County, Ohio, May 8, 1840, the son of 
.John and Harah (Wilde) Heck, and has been 
a resident of Rock Island County the past 
sixty-four years. The Heck family is an old 
one; Phillip Heck, grandfather of Josiah 
Heck, belonging to a family that was early 
established in the United States. 

John Heck, father of Josiah Heck, was l)orn 
September 10, 1786. in Pennsylvania. In 
1833 he emigrated to Harrison County, Ohio, 
staying eleven years there. There he married 
Miss Sarah Wilde, and a few years later 
Josiah Heck was born. In the early forties 
John Heck and family started for the Terri- 
tory cif Illinois, coming down the Ohio and 
uj) the Mississippi River to Rock Island, 
where he arrived May 15, 1844. In 1894 the 
family of Josiah Heck celebrated the fiftieth 
anniversary of their arrival, four generations 
partici])ating. Mr. Heck's father passed aw'ay 
August (). 1S7N. at the advanced age of 92. 
His wife sur\i\'e(l him until 1881. 

Our subject is an old soldier who was one 
of the valiant sons who responded to the call 
of Abraham Lincoln when the Ci\-il War 
broke onl. .\.s a x-oulli he had g<ii]d educa- 
tioiud .afhanl.ages, and was a collenc student 



when the war was declared. On October .5, 
1864. he joined Com]iany C, Sixty-sixtli 
Illinois "\'olunteer Infantry, and served in the 
.Vrmy of the Tennessee until discharged June 
10, 1805. 

In ]iul_)lic life ;\Ir. Heck has been j)rominent. 
For seven years he has been justice of the 
peace, and has served as collector, overseer 
of highways, as a member of the school board, 
and for twelve years served as a township 
trustee. As a strong temjierance man his 
sympathies are with the I'rohiljition party, 
but he often votes independent of party ties. 

Mr. Heck was married May 11, 1881, to 
Miss Lora E. Cornwall, who was born in 
Fayette County, Iowa, and is the daughter of 
George W. and Araminta (Crawford) Corn- 
wall, natives of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Heck 
have one daughter, Elizabeth S. Heck. They 
are members of the United Brethern Chiu-ch. 
Mr. Heck belongs to the Forum Lodge of 
Stewartsville. 

>M m 'M 
JOSEPH HUNTOON. 

JOSEPH IirXTOOX. deceased, a. native 
of Hano\er, Xcw Hampshire, was born 
April 17, ISI'2. and came t:i Illinois in 
1837, and settled at Andover Heights. 
Shorth" afterwards he went to what is now 
called Richland Grove Township, where he 
was united to iliss Sylvia Tanneg in marriage 
also a native of New Hampshire, having been 
born at New Ipswick October 22, 1822. 

.Joseph Huntoon only had a common school 
education and at an (>arly age learned the 
shoemaker's trade. In lcS44 he and Mrs. 
Huntoon took up their residence in ]\roline 
and he was the first shoemaker of that place, 
which was then a mere "Hamlet." He 
resideil at the corner of Second Avenue and 
Fourteenth Street, the property on which he 
lived belonging to Spencer White, and aftci- 
wards was the home of S. W . Whcelock. 

.Mr. Huntoon later reuio\ed In Fnui'lli 
.\\'enue an<l Fdui'teenth Sireet. where he 



// / ,s' T O Ti I C R C K ISLAND COUNTY 



171 



lived until the Chicniid aiul Ruck Island 
Railroad caiiie wpst. airl ii|»:ii ciitevinc 
Moline, took a purtii'ii of thcii- lot. This 
necessitated the reni()\al of the house further 
hack on the lot in order to make rciniii for tlie 
tracks. The people a1 that time were so 
anxious for the railroad that thi-y cared hut 
little where the tracks \\-ere lai<l. 

Some time later iMr. Iluntoon rcmovecl to 
the old Joseph Jackman place where he 
resided until his demise. 

Mrs. Huntoon was a chaiicr memlio' of the 
Congregational Church of .Moline. !)eini;- at 
that time only eighteen years of age. Soon 
afterwards Mr. Huntoon became a member 
of the same church, and bolh became steady 
church goers. Mr. Huntoon later became a 
deacon and also could be found on each 
Wednesday evening in charge of the J5oy.s' 
Club. Not only was .Mr. Huntoon the first 
shoemaker of the jilace. but lie was the 
second brickmaker as well. I'inding tliat the 
brick industry was a profitable one he com- 
menced to manufactur(^ thai uialerial, and 
from 1846 to 1S76 he supplied .Moline with 
the greater quantity of its briid^. 

His family consisted of lOdgai' X., Joseph 
('.. (leorge H.. Mary L. and l'"aniiie A. Hun- 
toon. all of wdiom were born in .Molii-c with 
the single excejition of Ivlgar X., who was 
born in Mercer County. Illinois. 

Through keen iierse\'erance and business 
enterprise Mr. Huntoin accpni'e(l consider- 
able wealth, and aftei' gi\'ing his childi'en a 
good eckictition, left them well pi-o\i(led for. 
He possessed the faculty of making friends 
and was held in high regard by his many 
accjuaintances. 

iS SS K- 

HONORABLE GEORGE W. JOHNSON. 

HONORABLE GEOROK W. JOHXSON, 
of No. 1440 Twelfth Street. Moline, was 
born in Henry County, Illinois, October 
!•, 1S57. He was raised on the farm and the 
training he there acquired fitted him well foi- 



the public career he later attained. As a 
youth lie was perse\-ering and studious and 
made tlie most of the pulilic school teachings 
he had the advantage of. [May 31. 1SS2. he 
marri(Ml .Miss Caroline 1''. Hogg, of .Andover, 
Illinois. I'lir two years they conducted a 
farm and then, Mr. Johnson feeling himself 
fitted for a business career, moved to Orion, 
Illinois, in the Spring of ISS4, where lie 
entered in tlie general mercantile business. 
During l^residenl lian-isun's administration 
he w.as appointed postmaster at Orion. 

In ISOl he ga\-e up his imsine.ss in Orion 
and moved to Moline where he entered the 
real estate field. He followed this business 
until lOIHl wlien he accepted the active 
management of the .Moline I'lirniture Co. 

.Mr. Johnson is a staunch Re]iubliean and 
has been identifie;! with the ])arty since old 
enough to \-ote. .\s a Republican he has 
always upheld the party ]irinciples and taken 
an active pari in I lie cam]3aigns. He was 
elected a member of the House of Represen- 
tati\'es friuii this, tlie Thirty-third Senatorial 
District, in ISDS, and ser\ed for two terms in 
the r'orty-fii'st and I'orty-second general 
assembly, where he acquitted himself well. 
Mr. Johnson is alliliated with the Lutheran 
Church. 

Mr. -Aivl Mrs. .Johnson have lieen the parents 
of four children, the oldest dying when six 
years of .age. There .-ire three boys living. 
.Mauritz Johnson, aged twenty-two, now with 
his father in the office : l']sle\-, aged nineteen, 
now at college: and I'ranklin. aged twelve, 
now in the imblic schools. 

r: S; f° 

CHARLES BISHOP KNOX. 

CHARLKS 1',IS1I()1> KNOX, decea.scd, 
one of Roidv Island's pioneer citizens 
and a wide awake and conser-\'ative 
business man and politician in his days, was 
born at P>landfoi-d. .Massachusetts, June 27, 
LSLS, and dieil in Ibud^ Island on .May 2H, 
1890. 



172 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



Chai'li's Hishd]) Kiicix was the s«)ii of Mr. 
and Mrs. (.'iiitis H. Knox, who «as one of the 
olil respected families of Blandford. He 
acquired a coninicu school education in the 
public schools of Rlandford and Springfield, 
Massachu.setts, and in 1.S41 came to the City 
of Rock Island direct from his native state. 
Having arrived here at this early day he was 
listed among the picneer settlers of the county 
and so( ri became widely acquainted. 

.\fter devoting much time to the study of 
emlialming he entered the undertaking Inisi- 
ness in Rock Island in 1858 and continued in 
this business until May 28, 1890. which was 
the day of his demise. 

During this period of years he held public 
office, and in the execution of the duties of 
these, which he cajiably conducted, naturally 
won the esteem and admiration of all those 
with whom he dealt. His career in jiolitics 
lead him into various offices of responsibility 
which he occupied for a number of years. 
Among the public offices held by him being 
County Coroner, county supervisor and alder- 
man of the City of Rock Island. 

Mr. Knox was a staunch Rejjublican and 
was elected to office by the Republican party. 
.Aside from these jiolitical duties Mr. Knox 
also served for some time as chief of the 
volunteer fire department of Rock Island. 

To fraternal organization Mr. Knox gave 
but little of his time, being only a member of 
Rock Island Lodge. Xo. IN. Independent 
( )rder of ()<ld Felli}ws. and taking l)ut a 
small jKirt in its business or social de]3artment. 
While he was affectionate and liberal he was 
affiliated with no other charitable or philan- 
thropic institutions than the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church of Rock Island. In this he was 
known as a good church worker and always 
assisted in its adwiiu'cment in w liatexci' way 
he coidd. 

In \S'M). shortly before Mr. Knox luul 
reached his maturity, or at the :ige of twenty 
vears. he decided to niai'rw and this event 
tcok place at 151;nidford. wlici-e he I'esided 



until he came to Rock Island in 1841. two 
years later. 

Four sons of Charles Bishop Knox are liis 
only survivors: Edwin B. Knox of Moline, 
B. F., C. B. and 8. P. Knox of this city are 
the remaining members of his family. 

Under him two sons learned the embalming 
and undertaking business, and to this day 
both are successfully engaged in carrying out 
the work of the father; E. B. Knox conducting 
his undertaking rooms in Moline, and B. F. 
Knox in this city. Both have established 
themselves in their respective cities as well 
as in the surrounding community and are 
enjoying a steady growth and ]irosperous 
business. B. F. Knox, like his father, 
aspired to political office and was on two 
occasions honored by being elected mayor of 
the City of Rock Island on the Re]uiblican 
ticket. 

The demise of Charles Bishop Knox took 
from Rock Island one of its most estimable, 
upright and lionor.able citizens. 

jg jg 5g| 

WALTER JUDSON ENTRIKIN. 

AFTF]R sixty-two years of experience of 
the most \-aried nature. A\'alter Judson 
Entrikin, ])rominent attorney, died Au- 
gust 3. 1908, at his residence in Moline, at 316 
Sixteenth Street. Unlike many of the older 
settlers in this county. Attorney Entrikin was 
born on American soil and spent his entire 
life in the United States of America — in the 
great miihlle west. Born on Feljruary S. 
1840, he spent his early youth in Salem 
Townshi]), Columbiana Coinity. Ohio, but 
later choose to roam farther west, .\fter 
many years of work in various capacities in 
Rock Island County, .Mi-. F.nlrikin became 
(■it\- attorney of the City ol .Moline. 1873-4 
and 1S81-2; state's attorney of Rock Island 
County, 1884-8; master in chancery of Rock 
Island County, 1902-4. 

His parents were Biinton iMitrikiu and 
Fli/a .laiH' ( Mc( 'raken ) I'.iitiikiii. Thei)' liistorv 



// / ,s' 7' O li I (■ R () C K I S L A N I) (J U N T Y 17:5 



is of sreat interest and if was due to His wife was a native of \'erniont and came 

their efforts and lalioi- in ( he " pioneer days" to M(ilin(^ witli liei- parenis in April of 1 S(i(). 

llial tlieir descendanis liecaiiie inllniaicinii 'riie\ were William and l.ydia I', ('lianii)erliii, 

powers in coinninnil ies in wliicli tlie\- lia\-e well-to-ilo and people who lor the most part 

lalioied in latei' \ ears. I'lniiton laitrikin was li\ed a (piiel I'etiicd lile. 

Iiorn on ])ecendier S. iSll, at West cliester, Tlie clnldi-eu a|-e: K,\ a Mary M iriian. wife 

{'liester County, I'ennsyh anni. and VXr/.-d of Holierl II. Mor,nan, of Miline; U'illiam 

.lane .MeCraken was liorn <in .\o\(Mnlier lit, Hrinton iMilrikin and l''re lerick Cliapin ImiIim- 

1N14, at Salem Township, ('oliiml)iana('oiinty, kin, who were associated willi tlieii- father in 

Ohio. The fathei' ol' the local man was a Moline: Hoy.lndson h'.nt rikin . iMiineeted with 

schoolmate with ll.awiid T,i\lor, the .•iitlhor. Moline llealin.ii and Conslrnction Company: 

and his niothei- was an impoilaiit station anil .\ila l.ncile Mntiakin, widely kiiowri 

anent on the ' ■ rnder,i;i-onnd Kaili-o:id " that soprano soloist .and i;radnale of America,!! 

I'aih'oad which passed th!-oi|i;l! ('oliin!liiana ('oi!sei-\-,atoi-y of .Mirsic. 

('oiint\-. anil which meai!t so mnch to fiii;iti\'(> is % 'M 

slaves seekin.i; Canada, and freedom. The ^„_p^ iai\/icc c rvivcDc 

,.,.,. , , , I ,, M ,, , DOCTOR JAMES F. nYERS. 

l.ntrikms came li-om li'elanil, tlie .\lc( rakens 

from Scotland. John iMitrikin, the first p\()CT()R ,1 AMKS !•', .M Vl^llS, one of Hock 

iMitrikin of whom a detailed !-ecoi-il was kei)t, \_J Island County's pi-oinine!!t physicians, 

settled in Chestei- County. I'eiinsyhania, was hoi'n I )ecei!iliei- '_",), 1 S5l), at Hehi-on, 

liefo!'e the Hevoiiitionai'y wai-. The urand- ( )hio, and w as t he son of Ileni'y A. and l,:i\in:i 

i!iother of \\'alter Enti-ikii!. it is I'elated, tied Myers, hotli of whotn a!-e li\-in,u in their 

itp the finger of (u'nei'al ( leoi-.i;e \\^ashin,!iton eifjhties at hji!-eka, Illinois. Dr. .Meyers' 

when he was wonnded in the hat t le of P)i-,andy- fathiM' w as ,a Hapt isl iinniste!- Iiy \ocation, lii!t 

wine, tit the time she w .as a little ,>;i!-l. at an earl\- a.iie i-eti!-ed iipo!i a fai'm in McLean 

Mr Kntiikiii came to Moli!ie, Illinois, on Comity, Illinois. He was a nati\-e of .\Ile- 

.\piil L'."), 1S71, and has since I'esided there, ,i;li;iny Comit \-, Pennsylvania. 

l'l-e\ions III that time he i'ecei\eil a classical J)octoi' .hniies I'. .Myei',-- attended the co!!i- 

collejiiate cmii-se ,it Olieilm Colleiic the nion schools of his own neifihhorhood until 

ui'ow in.t;' (jliio ediicat ional inst it nlion. .iiraihiat- he reached his eijiiiteenth year, when he took 

ini; on .Xiiiinst 4, Is7il. l''ollo\\iiiii that he np his studies at W'estfield Collejje. JJefore 

!'eail law witli W'.ait ,anil .Moilenvell of (leneseo, reeeiNinji his dejii-ee there' he entered the 

and with John T. lirowiiiiiii of Moline, Illinois, business eolle<ie of Marqnam and Baker at 

He was admitted to the hai- of Hock Island Hlooniington. Illinois, and aftei- comiiletiiii!; 

Connty on Octohe!' 12, ls71, heing the last his conrse of sti!d\- in this colle.ne. entered 

lawyer to take the e\amination iindei' the Hnsh Medical College and .graduated from 

late Jiido'e (ieoi-^e \\', I'leasanls. that institution I''el)riiai-y '_'(!. l,SS.'-i. 

Mr. Hntrikin was a { 'oii,ni-eiiat ion.alist and ])iirin,t!: the time spent in col le.iie he studied 

his \ lews wei-e of the liio,adest scope. His art. and ihii-inti- the last three years of his 

!ecoi-il as a Hepiihlican paity memher in this studies he taiifiht music, namely: piano, 

ciiunt\ is a lonK and piominent iin(\ He was \iolin and \ocal. 

a meml)er of the .\ncieiit Oidei- of Ciuied .lames !•'. .Myer^ was horn on a farit! and 

Workmen and of the Modern Woodmen of spent his lioyhood days there. E\'en when 

.Vmei'ica. a mere lioy he was noted for his musical 

Walter Jitdson iMitrikin mai-|-ied Miss .lulia inclinations, if not his aliility. and at the age 

.\lathea Chainherlin on .\uiiitst' IN, IS7(), of fifteen years was leader of a brass band' 



174 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



also leader of an orchestra, played the church 
organ and taught the old fashioned singing 
school in the school houses and churches and 
in the villages in his section of the country. 

After graduating in medicine from Rush 
Medical College in 1883 he located at Farmer 
City, Illinois, for the practice of his profession. 
Not content with his country practice and 
the long rides over country roads he gave up 
his practice there and located in tlie City of 
Rock Island in the Fall of 1901, and has 
continued his residence in Rock Island since. 
His dail}' life was unobtrusive and he was not 
disturbed from following the "even tenor" 
in his own way until after the second attempt 
by the Modern Woodmen to mo\'e their head 
offices from Fulton, Illinois, to Rock Island. 
Doctor Myers was the only physician in a 
]3art3' of five hundred who went from Rock 
Island to Fulton in a special train for the 
jnu'pose of forcefidly removing the books and 
fixtures of the Modern Woodmen of America, 
and a general riot followed, in which about 
one fourth of the participants were injm-ed. 

Doctor Myers was such a conspicuous 
figure in leading the attack upon the jieople 
of Fulton — or the "Fultonites," as they were 
called — and in his attentions to his wounded 
comrades after the fight was o-\-er, though he 
himself had been shot, cut and bruised, made 
him generally known and spoken of with 
more than ordinary ccnsideraticn. 

Doctor .Myers had not only accomplished 
much in metlicine and nuisic, but in politics, 
educatiin and fraternal organization as well. 
In 1886 he was j)resident of the school board 
an 1 in 1889 was president of the McLean 
County Agricultural Fair Association. In 
1898 he was elected supreme medical director 
of the Court of Honoi', a position wliicli he 
held for eight years. 

In the same year lie was also elected a 
member of the Ixiard of supervis;)i-s an 1 held 
tl e [)( sitic n for si.x years. He was appointed 
in 1902 by Sheriff Gordc n as ])hysician to the 
Rock Island County jail, and he was succes- 



sively appointed to the same position bj' 
Sheriff Hemmenway and Sheriff Cralle. Dur- 
ing the year of 1906 he was health commis- 
sioner for the City of Rock Island, and it 
might well be added that Doctor Myers was 
the organizer and first president of the first 
medical society organized in Rock Island 
County which was recognized Ijy the Illinois 
State Medical Society. 

Politically Doctor Myers was a Repuljlican 
and is still of that persuasion. 

He has been and is at the present time 
connected with many organizations, among 
which are the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights 
of Pythias, Court of Honor, Woodmen, Royal 
Neighbors, North Star, Modern Brotherhood 
of America, Royal Americans, American 
Order of Foresters and others. He has held 
various offices in nearly all these orders and 
has held responsible offices in the supreme 
lodges of many of them. He was for years 
chairman of the law committee of the Fra- 
ternal Army. For eight years he was supreme 
medical director of the Court of Honor. For 
eight years he was a member of the lioard of 
directors of the North Star and is now in 
possession of the highest office, chief astron- 
omer. 

Doctor Myers was married March 15, 18S2, 
to Miss Sarah J. Johnson, of Hey worth, 
Illinois. Her father was James Johnson, the 
most influential farmer in the community in 
which he resided. Two children have been 
born to Doctor and Mrs. Myers: Dacie. now 
the wife of a prominent dry goods merchant 
of Erie, Illinois; and Miss Nettie E. Myers at 
home. Miss Nettie is editor of the Xort/i 
Star, a publication devoted to the organiza- 
tion of which Doctor Myers is chief astronomer. 
!S 5S SS 

DOCTOR F. H. GARDNER. 

DOCTOR F. H. GARDNER, a physician 
i-esiding at 507 Fifteenth Street, Maline, 
Illiniis, is a native of the state, having 
been born in Sublette :\lavcli Ki. 1NI)9. .\fter 



// I ST RI C R C K I S L A N I) CO U N T Y 



175 



acquiring a I'diimuiii aiK.l high school cduca- 
tidii he oiitoi'ecl the Chicago College of Phar- 
macy and Medical l)e|iartmoiit Union of 
Illinois, from which he gradiiat(>d. He served 
lii'i<'fly as a militai'v man as a mciidx'r of the 
Chicago Zonax'es, this ser\-ice extending from 
the year of 1 SS6 to 1887. Politically he was 
e\ery hail' a i!e|iiihlican . and in 1S<.)7 he 
recei\-ed the apijointment of I'nited States 
])ension examiner, which position he holds to 
(hite. 

Pi'aternally he is aliiliated with l)ori<' 
Lodge. No. ;^I'.». of .Moline. Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons. 

In 1S97, the same year in which he was 
ajipointed Cnited States pension examiner, 
he married Miss .Anna VanHorn, of IjaFayette, 
Indiana. 

As -A ])liysician he r;niks high and as a 
citizen his pleasing )ierson.alify and cliar.aider- 
istics have stamped him among the most 
agreeable and respected of .Moline. 
8^ !S K 

HARK ASHDOWN. 

MARK ASHDOWN, deceased, for many 
years a resident of Port Hyron and C"oe 
Townshi])s. was. iluring his lifetime, 
one of the l)est known and respected of the 
many long time residents of this county. 
He was horn in County Kent, in P^ngland. 
on the third day of .Tune, 1851, and 
died May HI, 11)07. He came to Amer- 
ica early and in late years hecame pi'omincnt 
in local ])ul)lic life as an ardent Proliiliitionist 
and the holiler of \-ai'ious piihlic otHces in this 
coimty at \-ai'ioiis times. Xol until eai'ly in 
1!)(17 did death hnally cl.aiin .Mr. Ashdowu, 
after he had sulTereil for six ye.Mi-s with 
paral\-sis. 

'I'lie late citizen of Hock Island County, 
here mentioned, was the son of Ivlward and 
,\iiii Bakurst Ashdown. lioth of Cmiuty 
Sussex, I-aigland. I'^dward .\shdo\\ii, lather 
of .Mark, came to .America in IS42. aci-om- 
paiiied Ijy his twti sons, Henry and .Mark, and 



after s]ien<ling thirteen months in Macedon, 
Wayne Count}-, New York, they returnetl to 
England, where the elder .Mr. .-Vslidown died 
soon afterward. 

In the fall of 1N.")(I Mark and his hrother 
retiu'neil to New York State and again located 
in Wayne Count\-. Until IS.')") .Mark re- 
mained th(>re and in that year emigrated to 
Illinois, spending one Slimmer in Port liyron. 
Then going to Canoe Creek Township of 
Rock Island (.'ount\-, he remaini^d until 1N(),'?, 
engaging in a.gricultural pursuits, (loing into 
Coe Townshi]) in 1.S63. he remained imlil 
18S1. at which time he .again mo\'ed to Port 
Ijyron. engaging in th^ manufacture of 
lumlier and acting as local dealer in agricul- 
tural implements. Not until 1S95 did he per- 
manently retire from active hiisiness pursuits. 

For eight years Mr.". Ashdown was a justice 
of the pt'ace in Coe Townslii|) and for thirteen 
years he was a memlier of the school hoard. 
He was also at one time a memlier ol the 
Port Hyron town hoard. In early years Mr. 
Ashdo«n was identihcd with the Deiuocratic 
party, hut in laic years, as was state(| aixn-e, 
he liccame a Prciliil>itionist. 

.Mark Ashdowij marrie(l in \\'a\-ne County, 
New \'ork, on Deceniher I'.'i, 1S.")L'. the l)ride 
being Miss Mary Ann Beale. of County Kent, 
F^ngland, .Miss (-ieale came to this country 
in 1S50, with her father. Henry K. Beale. 
The neai'est descendants of .Mark .Ashdown 
are two sons and one daughter, namely: 
A\'illiam Henry, lioiii in \A'ayne County, New 
^'ork, and now living in Coe Townshi]): 
Charles Edward, horn in Rock Island County, 
• Illinois, a farmer li\'ing in Coe Township: and 
Ella E., the wife of Luther S. Pear.sell, a Port 
Hyron merchant. One son died in infancy. 

n n ti 
HARRY LANDON CHAPMAN. 

H.APvin' LAXDO.X CHAPMAN, a native 
of Illinois, was horn at .lersey viUe. in 
this state, nn October 2i(. 187."). and 
was the son of T. S. and S.arah V.. Chapm.an. 



176 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



His mother was formerly Miss Sarah E. 
I.anclon, of German ]xirentage, while his 
father was an Englishman. 

Mr. Chapman is now ])romineut in hanking 
circles in the City of iloline, where he holds 
the honorable position of vice-jiresident of 
the Peoples Bank and Trust Comjiany. He 
took up his residence in i\Ioline Feliruary 1 , 
1904, and since that time has made many 
staunch friends. 

After obtaining a ])ublic sciiool education 
he entered the Michigan law school and upon 
completion of his studies, graduated and was 
admitted to the bar of Illinois and Michigan 
at the age of twefity-three years. He prac- 
ticed law for some time, but decided that his 
interest in banking would be of greater value, 
and consequently turned his attentions to 
that profession,- to which he still adheres. 

Mr. Cha])man is a Republican Init never 
run for public office. He has always, and is 
still, ready to exert his efforts for a fellow 
Republican. Mr. Chapman is also a constant 
church goer and can be found in the congre- 
gation of the First Baptist Church of Moline 
on most every Sunday. His people were all 
honorable and ranked high in their respecti\-e 
lines of business, and like his ancestry, Mr. 
Chapman aspires to thesummit of his profession. 
SS SS Jg 

DOCTOR A, H. ARP. 

THERE is no period in the world's history 
which fails to demonstrate that excep- 
tional ability and knowledge are invari- 
ably triumphant and lasting, and live in 
memory long after the finite clay has returned- 
to mother earth. 

In medicine, as in every profession or busi- 
ness, nothing succeeds like success, but to 
attain success requires a master mind, a 
logical and conservative policy and a thorough 
midcrstanding of one's chosen calling. This 
being true, what shall l)e said of those who 
are inordinately endowed with genius and 
ability of accomplishment? 



Hence, is so much as success is measured 
l)y achievement, and in turn, success is 
bona fide proof of exceptional cajiability, it 
can lie perceived that the jn'olitic mind if 
not permitted to hide its lamp of genius 
under a l)ushel. Personal adaptation and 
knowledge are recognized with a certainty 
that passeth understanding, and are never 
permitted to remain dormant for any great 
length of time. Whether it be found in 
business, politics, art or medicine, the result 
is the the same — cream will not cease rising 
until it has reached the top. 

A timely and parallel case for illustration 
is to be found in Doctor A. H. Arp, of Moline. 
Born December 4, 1S61, in Davenport, Iowa, 
and being left fatherless at the age of three 
and" a-half years, he was never the less endued 
with the perquisites which go to make a 
virile and intelligent being, and such he has 
been during his entire lifetime. 

After the death of his father his mother 
removed to Moline, where she took abode 
with her brother. Doctor P. H. Wessel. In 
that city he received his education, and after 
being graduated from the public schools be 
began to study law under the direction of 
Honorable William A. Meese. Finding law 
incompatible to his inclinations, Mr. Arp 
took up the science of medicine under the 
tutorage of Doctor P. H. Wessel, his uncle, 
and in 1879 entered the Iowa State Univer- 
sity, from which he graduated in 18.82, being 
one of the first cla.ss in that college to finish 
the three years' medicine course. He re- 
turned to Moline and began his profession 
under auspicious circumstances, and Moline 
has since been his home. 

In 1888 he formed a partnership with 
Doctor Wessel, a consolidation which did not 
terminate until 1895, since which time 
Doctor A. H. Arp lias practiced as an indi- 
vidual physician. How successful he has 
been is apjxirent by the scares of patients 
who daily visit his office, by the remarkable 
cures he has elTected, and by the fact that he 




DR. A. H ARP 



// / S T R I a RO C K I S L A N D C O U N T Y 



is the attending physician for nearly, if not 
all, (if the niaiiiifai'li)i-i('s in the I'ldw City: 
chief surgeiin of the Tri-City Railway and 
J.ight t'oiiipany, anil surji'eon for the Chicago. 
Rock Island and Pacific Railway and Chicago, 
Hock Island and Pacific Railway shops. He 
is a nieniher of tlie Ilock Lsland County 
Medical Society, Illinois State Medical So- 
ciety. American Medical Association, Asso- 
ciation of Railway Sui'geons, Tri-State Metli- 
cal Society of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri; he 
ser\ed as City physician of Moline from 1,SS3 
to 1S,S7. and from 1S!)2 to 1S97 in the .same 
capacity: he was appointed on the first 
hospital board uniler the state law, and was 
its secretary or president for si.\ years: and 
is a member of its medical staff, and of tlie 
adjunct staff of St. Anthony's hospital. In 
1907. Doctor A. II. Arp was appointed com- 
missioner of health under the administration 
of Mayor Andrew (Jlson, which ])osition he 
still holds, and under his management a great 
inaii\' needed reforms as (o pulilic liealth 
ha\o jjeen inaugurated. As may be sur- 
mised, he is a member of numerous orders, 
among which may be named King Philip 
Tribe, Imprmed Order of Red men, of which 
he is a charter member; Improved Order of 
Forresters; Modern Woodmen of America, 
No. 3S; Trilie of Ben Hur; Royal Neighbors, 
etc, and these he represents as physician for 
the order. Is medical examiner for the 
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Comp- 
any, the Equitable of New ^'ork, Massa- 
chusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company of 
Springfield, Massachusetts, etc. 

December 24, 18S0. Doctor Arp was wed 
in Rock Island to Miss Mattie Hardy, who 
was born in A\'isconsin, she is a graduate of 
the Rock Island High School, was graduated 
in music under Professor Kramei' of l)a\en- 
porl , and was for two years a well known 
nuisic teacher in ('liica,a'o. Two cliildrcMi 
were born to this union, iiamel)-: A. Ilcniy 
and bonis C. 



.\ vohime larger than this could be written 
relati\e to the experiences and cures wrought 
by Doctor .-\rp. but since liis reputation as a 
skilled hand and master mind in medicine 
and surgery has spread to limitless miles, any 
eft'ort t<i ccnifine tliein to details or define 
them wcnild be ful ilc. 

Coming fr(Mu the great middle class of 
''men who do things," Doctor Arp was 
jihysically .as well as mentally ipialified to 
succeed, as e\'idenced by the rapid strides 
in medicine tli.-it he can check to his credit. 
He is jovial, but ne\cr ungracious: kindh- 
and gentle, tliougli courageinis .and stern; 
strong and virile. \ (>t wmntLidy in tenderness 
and sympathy. 

As a physician he is par <'\cellenl . and his 
re])utation throughout the middle west is 
paramount to that of any physician, regard- 
less of the school which awarded him a sheep- 
skin. Medicine magnifies before him with 
the ease and celeritv with which the sun 
disposes of the dew, ami as a dia,gnostician 
and surgeon he is an acdsuow ledged superior, 
even by those who would fain say otherwise. 
Socialy he is recognized in e\'ery plane and 
by everyone, and in brief, it may be said that 
aside from his skill as a ])hysiciaii and :i gentle 
administrator to suffering maid^ind. he is 
pleasant, ));unstaking, conscientious, and of 
sterling integrity. What more need be said, 
for of what avail .are weak words compju'e.l 
with the lasting monument of service which 
lie has rendered to all who came under his 
care. 

K n "M 
CHARLES DEERE. 

THE .'\nierican plow .■uid I lie name (,!' 
Deere are synoiiy iiioiis in the public 
niin(L .Xeitliei' widespread c.inime 'citil- 
ism ins])ired by the plow nor its constant 
de\'elopmeiit tow.-iril pei'fectiun li\- i t er 
hands and minds lia< elT.-iced the intiinac\- 
between the inventor .aiiil his iii\entiiii. 
'i'here is no siicdi close sympnt'iy between 



17S 



HISTORIC RO C K I S L A N D C U N T Y 



Fulton and the steamboat, Morse and the 
telegraph or others among the pioneers of 
practical ideas. The living force of most 
inventors has been in the ideas they have 
given to the world, but the perfection of 
these ideas has been carried forward by others. 
The living force of the Deere invention is the 
Deere plow and the Deere industry and the 
faithful association of the inventor with 
every phase of the development of his in\eri- 
tion. The Deere plow was the product of 
the genius of John Deere, the father: the 
Deere industry- was the triumph of lousiness 
acumen akin to talent of Charles Henry 
Deere, the son. The Deere jdow and the 
Deere industry have ever been foremost in 
setting a standard for agriculture and manu- 
facture, both in perfection of the implement 
and the magnitude of the industry. Seldom 
has history brought into such close relation 
such a remarkable combination of practical 
genius and business capacity in father and 
son. They were true pioneers of American 
products in the markets of the world and 
they made the name of Deere a house hold 
term in every nation of the globe. 

Charles H. Deere was a typical .American 
in a day and age conspicuous for individual 
achievement. The times called for men to 
develop the natural resources of the young 
undeveloped nation. Men consecrated their 
lives to organizing vast industrial activities. 
Charles Deere was representative of th6 
highest type of these producers of the enor- 
mous wealth of the nation. His life was 
consecrated to exploiting the utility of that 
which his father had created. The ])low not 
only became the most potent forerunner of 
civilization, but the originator of the com- 
mercial wealth (if tlie luition. 

.A.S a boy. when his mind was forming, 
Charles Deere caught the all-al)sorl)ing en. 
ihnsiasm and zeal of tl)e father. He was 
John Deere's conqianion in dri\-ing about tlie 
country in the vicinity of (liand Detour, 
Illinois, to test tlic priuiiti\-e jilows llie fatlier 



had built for the pioneers. He held the plow 
and followed the furrow and caught the first 
faint realization of the scope of agriculture 
as a national resource and of the business of 
favniing. 

Cliarles Deere was brought a Ijabe in arms 
by his mother in 1838 fi'om the family home 
in Hancock, Addison County, Vermont, 
where Charles was born March 28, 1837. 
.John Deere had preceded tlie family by 
several months to the west. In the simple 
home at Cirand Detoiu', now a somewhat 
deserted village near Dixon, Hlinois, the son 
tasted the ])rivations of the pioneer, lived the 
luimble life of the settler, mingled with the 
Indians ;uul A\'as given the meager advan- 
tages of the countrj' school. He was brought 
a boy of eleven, to the new home in Moline 
when John Deere, in 1848, was prompted to 
nio\(' from Grand Detoin- by reason o.f the 
natural advantages of coal, water power and 
transportation for his modest industrj'. His 
common school education was continued in 
midline and he attended commercial schools 
at Davenport and Galesburg, finishing his 
education at Hell's commercial school in 
Chicago. 

When he first became identified with the 
Deere Plow Works in 1853, the son was put 
at bookkeeping. His marked ability at 
unistering detail brought him more intimatel}' 
into the industry and he turned to salesman. 
He became proficient in every phase of plow- 
making and demonstrating, even as a tioy in 
actual apjjrenticeship as an artisan. Driving 
horses was a natural talent, and he became 
the company's most ex]jert rei)resent;itive in 
handling the walking plow, being esjiecially 
successful in introducing it into new territory. 
In later years he never swerved fi'om his 
de\'otion to his first lo\-e— the walking plow 
— and even to the last j^ear of his life Mr. 
Deere's greatest delight was to spend often as 
much as a half day in the experimental field 
holding a walking plo«- to the furrow. 



II I S T R 1 (' H U C K I S L A .V 1) (' i' N T Y 



179 



BuiMinc; a factoi-y in flio.sc days before tlie 
w.w was a sli)\\ and lalniridiis process with no 
hanks and no raih'oads. Tlie Deere plows 
were lelt with the merchant on commission 
and were deli\'ered liy w agon after trips often 
several linndretl miles lon,t;. Collections were 
made on suljsetpient trips, the dealer recei\'- 
inn a (hillar as commission on each sale. The 
panic iif 1,S57 caught the Deere industry in 
the midst of an outlay for additions, and the 
hui'den of the storm rested liea\'ilv on the 



stnii^alin"; concern. 



*ln(d< and determina- 



tion carried it thnmi^h, and every creditor 
was |)aid in full. 

At the outbreak of the ci\-il war the com- 
pany's selling force consisted of (!eorge ^\'. 
\'intoii, Alvah JMansur and Charles Deere. 
The younger Deere's atlventurous spirit 
prompted him to follow a regiment organized 
in Moline as far as Palmyra, Missouri, but his 
military ardor was cooled after a week spent 
in camp and his misuccessful effort to be 
mustered in. He was one of the active 
young men of the town thereafter in securing 
and forming new regiments of volunteers for 
service. He was inspired by a warm ])atriot- 
ism, :ind in 1898 contributed with libei'al 
hand to the support of those left behind 
by the \'olunteers of the Spanisli-.\merican 
war. 

Charles Deere became a i)artner with his 
father and his brother-in-law in the Deere 
factory in 1S5S. Ten vears later — in 1868 — 
the corporation of Deere ami Company was 
formed and Charles Deere ijecame vice-))resi- 
dent and general manager. The practical 
worth of the Deere plow had been demon- 
strated. The manufacture of the young 
industry had reached an annual outjnit of 
ino.OOU plows. The problem before father 
and son was to organize to meet tlie great 
market bcfiu'c fhein. There I'ame to the 
son — now a matni'c business man I he awak- 
ening to the responsibility before him, and 
thenceforth his life was consecrated to the 
great work given him to jierform. During 



the eighteen years that intervened between 
the organization of the corporation and the 
death of .John Dccic iu ISSti, the individuality 
of the son Ijecame more and more the individ- 
uality of the coiu'ern. He became president 
of Deere and ('(juipany and .'dl auxiliaries at 
his father's deal h. 

His work e\'er beckinied him on — on. He 
could scarcely have dre,-inied of the ultinude 
fruit of his talent, bnl his success lay in 
building his iudusliy with such a master 
touch thai it was e\'er prepared In respond to 
the (piick(>ning influence of a larger market. 
From selling direi'tly to the dealer, a system 
of branch stores — which later became branch 
houses — grew under his direction, till at the 
time of his death any one of the fifteen or 
more at Omaha, St. bonis, Minneapolis. 
Kansas City, \\'inne])ig, San I'rancisco and 
other centers represented a \'olume of business 
worthy of the uuili\ided attention df a busi- 
ness genius. He and his father originated 
the policy of making each liranch Ikjusc the 
center of a di\-ersified line of farm implements, 
thereby bringing the name of Deere more 
intimately into e\'erv phase of the business 
of farming. His great stiaicture comjire- 
hended the entire fielil of agriculture. Tie 
Deere and .Mansur Company was started in 
1S77 to nuinufacture corn planters. '^J'he 
John Deere Buggy ('ompany of St. I.ouis, 
the Fort Smith Wagon Company, the "\>lie 
Saddlery Com])any, the Union Malleable Iron 
Company all became cogs in the almost 
perfect business machine w Inch he constructed. 
Mr, Deere was a prof(uuid behe\-er in the 
future of his country; he displayed rare fore- 
sight in forecasting I he possibilities of its 
resources and he oi-g;inized his industry I i 
develop them. .\t the close of the nine- 
teenth century he c;inghl i he first glow of the 
golden age in American nuuiufact uring an I 
he set al)out. to rebuild his plow factory i i 
meet it. At the lime of his death he l;;i 1 
oidv just complete I this rec in.^ti'uct i iU. 
Death idlowed him no time in which to 



180 



II I Sr R I C li C K I S L A X I) C U N T Y 



journey along to old age in moderate retire- 
ment. His three score years and ten were 
meted out to him almost to a day. 

There was nothing hap-hazard about the 
success of the Deere industry. Its imjjle- 
ir.ents were built for the specific work they 
were to perform. The temper of the iron, 
climatic conditions, the needs of tlie agri- 
culturist were met before the implement was 
sent from the factory. A healthful invigoi'- 
ating life permeated every detail. Every- 
thing which bore the name of Deere repre- 
sented real value conservatively estimated. 

Under the direction of such a master mind 
it was but natural that a distinctively Deei'e 
sentiment should sway the industry. Did 
Mr. Deere specialize it was in his judgment of 
men and his mastery of detail. He jiossessed 
an insight akin to instinct in the selection of 
men of large calibre as his aides in working 
out his great structure. They carried on 
down through their departments a spirit of 
personal responsibility and consequence ami 
])ride in doing one's best. "Deere stands liy 
his men" came to be a sentiment tliat 
estabished a mutual bond of s.vmpathy, 
inspiring wonderful loyaltv to the name of 
Deere. The fundamental principle was to 
provide the best and the public would be 
quick to appreciate. 

The honor due his father as inventor of 
the plow was resjjected with uncommon 
reverence and devotion. Every branch house 
but two bore the name of John Deere. The 
bust of John Deere was the distinguishing 
characteristic of the advertising of the parent 
plant and its immediate auxiliaries. Was he 
swayed by i)rido, it was in the name of Deere 
and in the father whose genius had given the 
name such immortal luster. Personal glory 
over his achie\-cnient was utterl}- foreign to 
his nature. 

The scope of his hfe work made .Mr. Deere 
of necessity a man of large ])ublic usefulness. 
It drew him into the very vortex of the 
industrial and ])oliti(^al life of the luUion. 



The individuality of his concern in large 
measure became the individuality of the 
coininunity in which he lived. Deere and 
Company, the Deere and Mansur Company. 
and the Tnion Malleable Iron Company — 
his trinity of in(histries — gave employment to 
3, 500 men during the latter years of his life- 
His capital at one time or ;inother was investetl 
in ]3ractically every manufactory in Moline. 
He recognizetl the strategic ailvantage of tlie 
locality as a manufacturing center and sub- 
stantiated his faith in its future l)v liberal 
iii\estment in every phase of the business life 
of the city, notably erecting many of its most 
substantial structures aside from its factories. 
He |)opularize(l .Moline by the success of his 
own enterprises and liecame its leader and 
financial jiower in establishing its commercial 
solidity. His cai)ital was identified with the 
People's Power Company, the Moline A^ ater 
Power Company, and the .street car lines, 
pul)lic utilities that have had potent influence 
in the growth of the community. His per- 
sonal influence was conspicuous toward mak- 
ing Rock Island .\rsenal the chief worksho]) 
of the government and toward making the 
Mississippi River and tlie Hennepin Canal 
practical highways of commerce. He was 
the first to be sought when a new enterprise 
was projected and its fate maiiy times rested 
on his attitude toward it. His first question 
was of the men to be identified with it. 
Outside of Moline his investments aside from 
his factories were in e\'ery known a\enue of 
])ublic enterprise. 

There is Jio estimating the sco|)e of Mr. 
Deere's contribution to the material pros- 
perity- and ])rogre.ss of the world. His 
factories and allied industries, his distributing 
branches, gave employment to thousands and 
furnished means of livelihood to other 
thousands, to say not lung of the countless 
thousands who have profited through the 
utility of the Deere plow and allied imple- 
ments. The volume of l)usiness of his great 
business structure in the \-ear of his death \s 




H. E. CASTEEL 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 181 



C'stinialt'd to lunc liecii SL'.i.OOd.Odd. Siicli iiiciiiDrics u\' llir sturdy |ii( iiiccrs, ospecialh' 

usefulness tn Iniiuaiiify is iiol generally nf the iniildlc west. Did lir liaxc a weakness 

(lifinified with tlic name of iiliilanthnipy, liu( il a\ as foi- fine iioi-scs. He was a plain man 

men who liaxc Keen such t'aclnrs in providin,!; of the penplr \\hei'('\'er he wciil. democratic 

the opporluiiity tn others to help themselves in nature, diiiiiilied, reser\eil a ^enllenian ol 

nuist lie real philanthropists in a lar.ue the old school, courlh' ciuisiderate. deferen- 

appreciat ion ol t he term. lial. who shuiineil ostenfaliiui lo the degree 

His closest friends scaia-ely realized tlie of alihorrence. 1 1 is henevolences were wholly 

extent of his national prominence and in- impersonal. blThaiid, from the pocket, his 

flueiu'C. A sincere repuhlicaii. he was a identity oft(>n hein.u' completely hidden, lie 

factor in the hiiihest councils of his paiiy. was (piickly i'es]ioiisi\e to children and he 

He stiKid ccHisistently for 1 hose policies which would strike up a sort of ipliet iiood fellow- 

W(ndd build up the nation. li(> was a ship with I hem as he [jassed them from day 

counselloi' of statesmen. foi- had he not inti- to day alon;;' the street. He fi'ive most 

mate knowledfi'e of the farm and factoix. the liberally to encoura.ne t:den( and ambition 

warii-earner of national resources, all of I hem of cliildi'cn in limited cu'cumstanees, and 

the most serious consiilerat ions of the when once his sympathies were enlisted he 

lawniakei-: He was accorded a]i])ointments ne\'er forgot. He idolized his own grand- 

of lioncu- as national convention delegate. children. 

uational elector in the fienjamin Harrison ' .Mr. Deere was married Seplcunber l(.i, 1S62, 

campaigns, ]iresident of the state boanl of |o Mary L. Dickinson of Chicago. To them 

labor statistics under Governors O.gelsliy and were born two children: .Anna V. Deere. 

CuUom, trustee of DeKalb Xornud School, .August 'JO. 1.S64, who became the wife of 

comnussioner lo the \'ieiina ivxpositioii in William I)wi.ght Wiman ami who die(l June 

isr.'-i and to the WDrld's Columbian Kxposi- I, 1006, in Santa Harl)ara. Califoi'nia; Kath- 

tion in IS'.i;-! in Chicago. lint oidy once did arine M. Deei'e, born in (.)clober, IS(>(i, wife of 

he take up public work for pei'sonal reasons, William Hulterwoil h. Mr. Deere died ()c- 

and that in the interest of the (levelo)iment tober 21), 19(17. 

of deep water\yays, a cause which lay close M 'M "M 

to the hear! of one wit h such lariie conceiit ion , ,__,_r,r,_, ^ _.__,__, 

,,, ,,• ni u ,, ;+;ii, HERBERT E. CASTEEL. 

ot the worlil s wealtli. lie w:is ap|iomted hy 

(hn crnor Deneen in liH'7 to be commissi(Mier I II^RBERT K. C.\S'ri';t:i,. oiu' of liock 

of the Illinois and .Michi,gan canal in appi'c- I 1 Island ('ount\-'s most enterprising and 

ciation of his iidluence in prcunoting I he highly I'egarded citizens, prominent in 

(piestion of national water\\ays before con- banking and business cii'cles and a self made 

gress and of di'awing attention (o the water- man. w,as born in Da\-enpoi-1, Scott Coi.nty, 

wa\'sof Illinois. Iowa. Mai-ch lo. ISGO. and was tlie son of 

This strong sileiil nnui. who abounded ui .\pplctonand l'!li/,al)e( h Cai'd iiei- Cast eel. 

action and in splendid :ichie\-ement was Mr. Casteel's st lides t:i piiuuinence are the 

supreiueh imlifferent to |iersonal prominence result of hai-(l toiling .'ind struggle in his 

or power. ,\ man of the world iu its largest earl\- d;i\s .■ind his keen liusiness nu'thods and 

sense, he was swayed by the simplest tastes. perse\-eraiicein later years. 

He found his recreation and deliglil inlhings Terminating his studies in the public 

which m(Uie\' cannot bu\' in his home, in schools <if Daveiipoii. he \\as not an}- loo 

the woods ami hills .and water, in llowcrs. iu well pro\ideil with education with which to 

the progress of tlie crops, in reverencing the enter the great held of business struggle, buL 



182 



HISTORIC ROCK I S LAND CO U N T Y 



with (ijitomistic ideas he quietly worked them 
to a point of vahie and with each change oi' 
])osition came a promotion and higher sahirv. 
To this end he directed his ardent ambition 
until lie reached the estimable ]iosition of 
bank president. 

Mr. Casteel's business career dates back 
irany years, owing to the fact that he started 
out for his own livelihood at ah early age. 
When only thirteen years of age he went to 
Port Byron, Illinois, and two years later, in 
1875, he entered the employe of the Port 
Bj'ron Tjumber Company as Ijookkeeper, 
which position he held for two and a half 
years. In 187-") he went to Rapids City. 
Illinois, where he entered the employe of 
Taylor \Mlliams at the same occupation anil, 
for two and a half years more he followed 
this special work. As a departure from the 
lumber business Mr. Casteel became asso- 
ciated with John Schafer in the mercantile 
business, and after some years in this, and 
tipon dissolution of partnership he, took the 
position of assistant superintendant of the 
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad 
company's coal mines at Perry, Iowa, until 
1884, when he resigned his [losition and 
again took n]i merchandising. 

Prior to his dei)arture from Illinois lor 
Perry, Iowa, and at the age of twenty-one 
years, he decided to take a wife, and on 
December 22, I8S1, was married to Miss 
Emma S. I.owry. To this union two children 
were born, a son, Lowry 'SI., and a daughter, 
Evangeline Gardner Casteel. The son is at 
present engaged as assistant teller in the 
Hock Island National Hank, while the 
daughter attends college. 

When John Schafer was elected treasurer 
of Rock Island Coiuity, Mr. Casteel was 
aj^pointed deputy comity treasurer, which 
]iosition he held for tlie full term. At the 
expiration of this he accompanied Major C. 
\^'. Hawes of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica to Fulton, Illinois, as assistant head 
clerk. M'hicli position he liohl until ]S'.y.\. 



when he decided to shake the dust of Illinois 
from his feet and locate in South Dakota. 
Ill tiie above year he located at Parkston. 
and occupied the position of cashier of the 
Parkston State Bank of Parkston, this change 
taking ]Dlace .just ])rior to the ]ianic of the 
same year. He continued his services with 
that institution until 1898. and after a few 
months of retirement and in August of 1899 
he acce|jted the joosition of cashier of the 
Rock Island National Bank and located his 
family here. 

In the Fall of 1899 he floated the stock of 
and incorporated the Central Trust and 
Savings Bank of Rock Island, this taking 
jilace in December of 1899, and was elected 
himself as cashier. 

In May, 1902, upon the death of J. F. 
Robinson, Mr. Casteel was elected president 
of the Rock Island National and of the 
Central Trust and Savings Banks, and to the 
present day is the head of both institutions. 

In addition to the above responsible posi- 
tions, Mr Casteel has the business manage- 
ment of the Roliinson estate and is interested 
in several of the flourishing manufacturing 
institutions of the tri-cities. 

Aside from deputy county treasurer he 
never held a public office except that of 
treasurer of the Bethany Home Protective 
As.sociation of Rock Island, which is a home 
conducted for poverty stricken and destitute 
children. He was a democrat, but believe 1 
in the Republican platforms under McKinley 
and Roosevelt, and in accordance with his 
political opinions voted the Republican ticket. 

Mr. Casteel is a JIason of the thirty-second 
degree and has membership in se\-eral of the 
Masonic lodges aside from the Consistory. 
:\mong the lodges of which he is a memlier 
are Philo Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted 
Masons; Rock Island Chapter, Royal Arch 
Masons; Rock Island Commander}', Knights 
Templar and Oriental Consistory. He is also 
a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
.\morica. In liis fraternal and social affiliations, 




W ILLIAM A. MEKSK. 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



183 



as well as in luisiiicss. he has siii'idiiinleil 
himself w ith niiiiici'inis ai-(|iiaiiitaiices tlii-(iii,i;li- 
(Hit the city, (■(iiiiit\- ami state, and in hdiiest 
iipinidii lit' sii huniiralile a man tn the rnm- 
liiuiiity. it I'aii lie stated withiinl ronti'adir- 
ti(in that his loss wuiild lie a se\'ere lijdw tn 
the liusiuess interests t>{ tlie rily and to his 
scores of friends. 

y' ifii fS 

WILLIAM A. MEESE. 

V\ /VllliX that r\il day shall eonie whereim 
\{/ \\illiam A. Meese e\ehan.<;es his 7's 
(lei'li\' of eonunei'ce fur the starr\- 
rriiwn of heavenly reward. dnlTs his nm- 
veutiinial haberdashery df the .Mississi|i|ii 
\'alle\ for the celestial cerements of eternal 
liliss. .Moline will [lause in its onward niaia-h 
to industrial eminence, consider well this 
life-time of de\dtioii tn the city's interests, 
drop a tear of affection for a departed com- 
rade and wonder with ajijirehension where 
the half-dozen men are to spi-inii' from to take 
his jilace in the strn!i',!.de for ci\ic inipi'cixc- 
ment. He has been foi- a liall'-ceni nry the 
liiyal fiiend of his tnwii. the nnw axcrinii 
champion of Moline's claims to ciuisidei-at imi. 
her press agent, ad\aicate and .auardian spii-it. 
This esteem is mutual ami I'ecipi'ocal and the 
constant jilea of Moline is that William A. 
-Meese may lon.c; be spared In sei'xc as her 
envoy extraordinai'y and niinistci- plenipn- 
tentiary. lUs list uf acti\ities for the .aood 
of his city befoi'e delibei-ative and le.H'islat i\-e 
bodies and as a memiicT' of or,a;anizati(ins 
winch ha\'e built the city into its pi'esent 
|irou(l condition, spiritually, moi-ally. educa- 
tionallv and indust lialK' has not been wrilleu. 
'l"he I'ecord is lon^, honorable and foi Innately 
incomplete. 

William A. ]Meese was born in Sheboyi;an, 
Wisconsin. February ]. iSod. It has been ;i 
suliject of regret that he was not a nati\-e of 
Moline, luit this ei'ror, not his own, he I'cpaiicd 
as s|ieedily as possible by brin.i;iu,u his family 
to the \ illa.iic of proiuise in the ,u;irden »po| 



of the .Mississipiii \'alley at the afie of two. 
His father. Ilenrv P>r\uio Meese. and mother, 
.lohanna (\iin Thielde) Meese. wcvv mitives 
of Hano\i'i'. (lei-man\. and ramc to this 
niuiitry in iNoL*. 

A sni.all and sturd\' specimen of the tow- 
headed ( ierm.'in-Amciic.'in he entei'ed upon 
his education in the Moline public schools, 
gradiiat inii' thd'efrom in due time; iIkmicc to 
the prep:ii'atoi-y course of (liiswold College in 
|)a\enpoil, and completed the l''reshman 
ye.'u- ill thai institution. l'"nun (Iriswold to 
liock !{i\er Seminary (now .Mt. .Morris Col- 
le.ge) and liradnation in lS7(i. In one sub- 
sequent year at the State I'niversity of Iowa 
the de<;:ree of Bachelor of Laws was secnred_ 
The next year was spent in ad\'anced studies. 
In !N7S after jireparalion adequate and 
admi;-,-ibIc. the law student was transformed 
into a practiciii.u' attorney by aduiis-ion to I he 
bar of Illinois. 

He entered upon the |)iaclice of haw in his 
home city an'l soon altracleil a \olume of 
business ll.at terint': to the nali\c product, 
who. unlike the biblical pioolicl . found honor 
in his own ciMinlrx. I'>\ nlili/iiiii; a natural 
talent lor conci'iitrat ion w hich brings a mar.gin 
of leisure, Mr. Meese has loiiiid time to ser\(' 
his (ily :iiiil State in n:an\- wa\'s. He li.as 
been a member of fh.c libi-,-ir\' board, a member 
of the cemeteiw board, has ser\ ed as City 
Attorney for six years and for foiir yeai's was 
a trustee of the .\<irthein Illinois State 
.Xormal School. His prof(>ssion broii.ii'hl him 
into politics .'ind la- has been allii"' with the 
Kepnblicaii l';irly in his Stale. 

Mr. Meese admits a n:itnr:il incrmalion 
toward alhin.u himself with other men m 
organizat ions for mutual helpfulness and the 
adx'aiicenient of sin iety. He is a member o! 
the Moihaii Woodn.en. ih.eOdd IVIlov s. ihc 
I'llks. the Red Men. the Turners and a few 
other fi'afernal bodi(>s. He is also a member 
of the Moline Club, the Tri-('it\- i'ress Club. 
the Chica^id I'ress riiib and a half-dozen 
historical societies. 



184 



HISTORIC ROCK ISLAND COUNTY 



It wiiiild he easy for a biographer to wi'ite 
a cha|>ter (•(iiifeniiiii;' 'Sir. Meese's \o\v for 
histcry. his work aloiii; that line and his 
really valuable contributions to the records 
of tliis region. A number of n.ionographs 
which he has published show original research 
(_)f \ast industry and commensurate result. 
He has l)eeii the inspiration of the Rock 
Island County Historicai society and has been 
called u]x>n for historical addresses on many 
im]3ortant occasions in western cities. His 
historical library is admirable in its range 
and has many exceptional books of rarity 
and great value. Mr. Meese's friends are 
hopeful that there may come from his pen 
some day the yet unwritten hi.story of Hlinois^ 
for which he has ample original material at 
hand, 

Mr. Meese's research into local events of 
bygone days led to his appearance before the 
Hlinois General Assembly and an appropria- 
tion to mark the battle-site of the Wnr of 
1S12 on Campbell's Island near Moline. The 
dedication of that memorial in the Summer of 
1908 was the occasion of such a patriotic 
demonstration as the City of Moline had 
never previously entered upon. Incidentally 
the scholarly historian was so glorified by 
orators and press that his natural modesty 
has suffered an inordinate increase. His 
subsequent life has lieen one continuous 
unspoken a]jology for being unable to feel as 
great as his friends have painted him. 

The work which at present engrosses the 
s])are minutes of Mr. Meese concerns a wider 
area than his lieloved City of Moline or his 
home state. It is the splendid endea\-or to 
which the I'pper ]\Iississip]>i River Ini]iro\-p- 



ment Association is pledgetl. Of that 
organization ^Ir. ^leese is first vice-presi- 
dent. 

While president of the iloline Business 
Men's Association Mr. Meese made several 
trips to \A'ashington. and as the result 
secured an appropriation of $386,000 for the 
constniction of a lock in the Mississip])i 
River at his home city, thus making iWoline 
a river toA\ii, a ])rivilege it had been deprived 
of for over thirty years. As first vice-presi- 
dent of the River Association Mr. Meese 
assumed charge of and personally conducted 
the campaign before Congress for a six-foot 
channel for the Mississippi Kiver from St. 
Paul to the mouth of the Missouri River. 
The work was successful and in March 1908, 
Congress adopted the plan, the largest before 
that session, carrying an expeno'itiu'e of over 
twenty million dollars. 

The solid foundation of success in life is a 
happy home. 'Whether this was appreciated 
by the young attorney and his marriage made 
a part of hip plan for advancement, or ^,■hether 
Fortune so ordered affairs in t!ie distribution 
of her favors, in any event the best ;iiece of 
good luck that ever befell Mr. Meese was his 
marriage in 1878 to Miss Kittie Buxton, 
daughter of Daniel Buxton and .\nna S. 
(Kane) Buxton, of Marengo. Illinois. Their 
home has been brightened and blessed by 
four daughters- -Maude, the wife of Harry 
E. Newton; Kittie, wife of Benjamin S. Bell, 
also Lillian, (iertrude and Helen Meese. In 
his life of professional activity and ])ublic 
usefulness, William .\. Meese has had the 
unswer\ing and sympathetic encouragement 
of his famih- circle. 



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